


The Holiday Series

by godblessthefandom (Browncoat101)



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 21:29:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7123225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browncoat101/pseuds/godblessthefandom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brittana raise their daughter, Tesla.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Father's Day

“Mom, was I born in a test tube?”  
Brittany had been standing at the kitchen counter, chopping carrots for a midafternoon snack for her nine year old daughter, and suddenly the room was too bright and too hot and too everything.  
Tesla Alma Lopez-Pierce sat on a stool at the kitchen counter, her brown legs sticking out from under a bright pink tutu, and rainbow colored knee socks, kicking fitfully at the wall in front of her.  
She’d inherited her Mami’s looks, that was for sure. All flawless brown skin, and amber eyes, with dark hair that curled and frizzed whenever Santana didn’t want it to. Brittany loved it though, her daughter’s unruly hair and unruly smile, and general unruliness. Not that Tess was a disobedient child. She wasn’t. In fact, she was too smart for her own good, but she had her Mami’s attitude, and her Mom’s gentle, carefree spirit. And Brittany couldn’t help but love someone who looked like a mini Santana.  
Brittany had frozen, nearly slicing her finger instead of the carrot on her cutting board. She yelped, sticking her finger into her mouth. Tess’s eyes grew wide, and she quickly looked back down at her math homework.  
“Never mind.” She mumbled.  
“Why would-?” Brittany could feel her voice rising hysterically. She took a moment, spreading her hands on the counter, and breathing deeply.  
“Who told you you were born in a test tube?” She asked as calmly as she was able.  
Tess seemed to shrink further into herself, and shook her head fitfully.  
“Nobody.” She shrugged.  
Brittany walked around the counter until she stood in front of her daughter. Wiping her hands on her apron, she cupped Tess’ face, until her eyes met Brittany’s. Her heart stopped in her chest when she saw the tears gathered in the corners there.  
“Oh, baby.”  
She gathered her daughter up in her arms, picking her bodily up from the stool, and pulled her in tight, her daughter’s legs wrapping around her waist. She carefully walked them both through the kitchen, and into the den, before settling gently into the couch. Sinking down in the cushions, she held her close until her quiet cries became soft hiccups, and began to fade away.  
“Talk to me, sweetheart.” Brittany pleaded, rubbing small circles into the girl’s back.  
Tess took a couple of deep breaths before finally turning to look at her mom.  
“Madison Gurney.” She said with a huff. “Ms. White said we were going to make gifts for our dad’s for Father’s Day, and if I wanted, I could make one for my moms. And Madison said I didn’t have a dad because I was born in a test tube, and they had to grow me in a Petri dish until I was big enough to put in a tank. Then I swam around in the tank for nine months, and that if you looked real close, you could see the gills that I had from when I lived underwater.”  
The speech came out in what seemed like one long breath. If Brittany wasn’t so sad for her little girl, she might have laughed. It was a silly story, and just the kind of thing that she might have thought when she was young. But she never would have pointed it at someone to make them feel bad about themselves. It was mean, and bullying. Which was not okay. She would have to bring this up with Ms. White. She didn’t want her daughter being bullied at school just because her home life wasn’t ‘typical’. Maybe she’d send Santana after her. Ever since their first parent teacher conference, during which Santana had made sure that everyone knew that not only was she a lawyer, but one of the youngest partners at one of the bigger firms in New York City, everyone had given her a wide berth, and Ms. White had gotten that glazed-over look in her eye when faced with the wrath of Snixx.  
“What do you think, Tess? Do you think you were born in a test tube?”  
Tess seemed to think on that for a second, her face getting the little scrunch that she inherited from both her moms.  
“I-I don’t think so.”  
Brittany smiled, and cupped the little girl’s chubby cheeks in her hands. Kissing carefully on each one like she was her precious treasure. Which, duh, she was.  
“I want to show you something. Go get Mom’s laptop.”  
She unwrapped her daughter from her arms, and allowed her to scramble off the couch, and into the study, carefully picking up the laptop, and fast walking back to the den.  
Brittany had brought the carrots (that she’d managed not to soak in blood), and some peanut butter and sat them down on the coffee table.  
Pulling Tess back into her lap, she opened the computer, and with a few clicks, they were looking at a video.  
Brittany watched Tess’ face light up at the image of her Mami sitting on the couch in a very small, very different looking home than the sprawling home they lived in now. Tess recognized it from old pictures of Mami and Mom. It was when they lived in Flatbush.  
“Britt, I swear to god, if you don’t turn that camera off.”  
A very pregnant Santana covered her face with a blanket before grimacing hard at her wife.  
“I look like shit.”  
Tess gasped, and laughed a little. She was used to her Mami’s potty mouth, but it always tended to make her giggle.  
A hand gently reached up and cupped Santana’s face.  
“You look amazing, mother of my child. You always look amazing, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you look more beautiful.”  
Santana only rolled her eyes.  
“Briiiitttt.” She whined. “When is this baby going to get out of me?” Then looking down and softly stroking her stomach, she pointed her face towards a small movement. “I love you Baby LoPierce, but you’ve got to make your move.”  
Brittany laid the camera down on the table, and shifted it until Santana was in plain view. She slid between Santana’s legs and laid her head down in her lap, rubbing absent fingers over her wife’s big belly.  
“You take as much time as you want, Baby LP.” Brittany murmured, laying small kisses over her stomach. “Mommy’s just being cranky. We don’t want you out until you’re crispy all over.”  
Santana couldn’t help but smile, running her fingers through Brittany’s hair.  
“It’s a bun in the oven, not a chicken, Britt.” There’s laugh in her voice. “And how dare you call me cranky? I’m the one with your baby pressing into my bladder.”  
Brittany only laughed and snuggled further into Santana’s lap.  
“See, Baby LP? I told you. It’s much safer in there. But I know exactly what will make your Mami feel better.”  
Brittany crawled up Santana’s body, laying soft kisses there before reaching her lips, her kisses becoming hot and greedy as she reached her final destination.  
Santana moaned softly, and reached to cup Brittany’s breasts-  
Brittany closed the laptop with a snap before her daughter saw more than she needed to see. But Tess didn’t seem to notice, she leaned dreamily into her Mom, snuggling closer just has Brittany had in the video.  
“So, what do you think?”  
“I think that you and Mami have always spent way too much time kissing.” Tess said, cheekily.  
Brittany ruffled the curly black locks before opening her arms, and pulling her baby on top of her, her long legs tucked beneath her. Tess straddled her lap, her head tucked under Brittany’s chin and her arms wrapped around her. Tess had long since been too big for Santana’s lap, and had inexplicably inherited Brittany’s height, so it wouldn’t be long before she was too big for her, too. But that didn’t stop Santana from gathering her up in her arms, and Brittany didn’t think she’d stop soon either. She began to rub soothing circles once again and hummed her agreement.  
“Well, sure, but when someone is as cute as your Mami, I don’t think I can help it.”  
Tess only stuck out her tongue, showing her disgust, and Brittany laughed, tickling the girl until she was doubled over in giggles, then raising her daughter’s chin again, until she was looking into her eyes.  
“What I saw in that video was a very pregnant Mami. Pregnant with you. I mean, did you even see a test tube?”  
“No, I don’t think so.” said Tess, quietly.  
“See? You came right out of your Mami’s tummy, and I was there to catch you when you popped out.”  
“But-” she started, looking away again.  
Brittany’s heart almost broke seeing the hesitation and sadness in her daughter’s eyes. She would have fought a dragon for her little girl, but now she couldn’t protect her even from the scorn of her classmates.  
“What is it?” She said, more than a little desperately. “Tell me, Tess.”  
Tess took another moment before plunging ahead. This was something she’d learned only from Santana. Storing up her feelings until they were about to burst, and then letting them pour out all at once. It was hard on Brittany sometimes, living with such stoic Latina’s, but she was as patient as she could be with both of them, and eventually they would come around.  
“What about my dad? It’s Father’s Day, Mom, and everybody is making cards or ties or whatever for their dads. Everybody but me.”  
Brittany swallowed. She and Santana had had this conversation with Tess before when she was younger. But, it was age appropriate and didn’t go into all the details. Tess knew that they were her mom’s and they loved her very much. She knew that she looked a lot like Santana, but almost nothing like Brittany, but that Brittany was as much as her mom as Santana was. In fact, Tess knew that she could ask her Mom for things that she’d never ask Mami, because one little patented Lopez pout, and Brittany would cave.  
But, Brittany wasn’t sure how to deal with this situation. She wanted to be honest with their daughter, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to have this conversation without Santana.  
A million thoughts raced through her head, and she patted Tess’ back thoughtfully.  
“Well, you remember that book we got you, about where babies come from?”  
“Yeah, I remember. And I was confused then too. It said you had to have sperm from a dad and an egg from a mom. If Mami had me in her stomach, does that mean that the sperm came from you? How can you make a sperm and you’re a girl? And-”  
Brittany hugged her a little tighter to stem the flow of questions that were pouring out. It wasn’t often that she got overwhelmed when dealing with her daughter. In fact, when Tess was still a squealing infant, it was more often than not that Brittany got up to walk her back and forth in the living room until she fell asleep, or took her on midnight drives through the city. She said she was doing it because she wanted to let Santana have as much rest as possible, but Brittany really liked the quiet times alone with her daughter. It made her feel more connected to her. She patted Tess’ back a few more times for good measure.  
“How about you finish your snack, and your homework, and when Mami gets home we’ll talk all about it?”  
Tess only nodded dumbly before sliding off of Brittany’s lap, grabbing the tray and heading back to where her homework sat on the counter. Brittany missed the feeling of her daughter wrapped around her already.  
\  
Santana burst through the door, slamming it shut behind her against the frigid breeze.  
“Fuck.”  
They were knee deep in fall and the weather was finally turning for the worse. Her daughter and her wife were ecstatic to finally get to start wearing all of their winter clothes, but Santana was more practical. She started a mental checklist for winterizing. First, she’d have to make sure that the windows were airtight, gutters cleaned and covered. She’d have to take Tubs in for his yearly checkup, and make sure he didn’t have anything that would cause her to have to murder him after being stuck inside with him for days on end. Three years ago he’d somehow gotten fleas (Santana couldn’t explain it either, he was an indoor cat), and they’d spent days bombing all the rooms, and washing everything that was able to fit in the machine. Tess and Brittany had enjoyed it because they’d gotten to spend three days away from their house, and in a nice hotel. Santana had to admit she enjoyed it too, though it started getting a little tedious to have to confine their sexy times to when Tess was at the indoor pool, or the afternoon she’d spent with her godmother Mercedes, touring her studio.  
Santana stomped to the kitchen, still considering her winter list, and rubbing her arms through her pressed button up tailored blouse when she noticed her daughter, head bowed over her homework, sitting at the kitchen counter.  
The oven was on, and Santana could smell dinner cooking. She always loved the days when Brittany picked Tess up, and got home early, cooking her awesome meals with recipes that she’d found online. Of course, she liked the days when Britt taught a late class, and she got to pick Tess up. She’d always make one of her grandmother’s dishes, or something her mom taught her. She didn’t want her daughter growing up eating only white people food.  
She walked up behind Tess, kissing her soundly on the top of her head, and looking down at her homework.  
“Claque mi amor?”  
“Hola Mami. Tarea.”  
“Completar frases, por favor.”  
“Lo siento, Mami. Estoy haciendo mi tarea.” Replied Tess, taking a rather formal tone, but smiling regardless.  
Santana kissed her head again.  
“Bien, bien. Donde esta tu Mom?”  
“Um, I think she’s in the bathroom upstairs.”  
“En Español, Tesla Alma!” Santana scolded.  
She ignored the rolling eyes of her preteen daughter, and fixed her with a strong stare.  
“Mom esta en el bano arriba.”  
“Muy bien.” Santana said, with a satisfied smirk. She kissed her head once more, and walked out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.  
“Cuidado con el horno.” she warned as she left the room.  
Santana stopped, and turned back to eye her daughter. Something about her tone, and the look on her face made Santana wonder if something had happened that day. “Is everything okay, baby?”  
“Si, Mami, esta todo bien.”  
Santana didn’t quite believe her, but thought she might get a more complete answer out of Brittany, so she turned back towards the stairs, before turning to Tess once again.  
“Tess, don’t tell Mom that I yelled Fuck at the top of my lungs when I came in.”  
“En Español, Mami.” Tess mocked, sticking her tongue out and crossing her eyes.  
Santana only rolled hers, blew a kiss up to her daughter, and mounted the stairs. Brittany and her bedroom was the first on the right, so she slipped in and searched the room for her wife. Not seeing her there, she quickly changed into her favorite sweats, and one of Brittany’s school sweatshirts, and went into the bathroom, thinking she might find her there. But still, no Brittany. Santana walked out into the hallway, cocking her head to the side, and listening closely. It was times like these when Santana regretted letting Brittany talk her into moving into this behemoth of a house. Granted, it was a perfect location, and they could afford it, but it was only three of them, and she wasn’t sure why they needed so many rooms.  
She was about to go back downstairs and ask Tess if maybe Brittany had gone out for a last minute trip to the store, and Tess had forgotten, when she heard a soft sound coming from her daughter’s room. She walked slowly until she was standing right outside the door that was open a crack. Leaning close, she clearly heard Brittany sniffling from the other side.  
Santana pushed the door open softly, and could feel the tears welling up in her own eyes when she saw Brittany, who had been laying on Tess’ bed, sit up quickly, shake out her long, blonde hair and dab at her eyes.  
“It’s okay, Tessie, I was just getting ready to come back downstairs, everything’s fine.” Brittany’s watery voice cracked a little as she tried to pretend that she hadn’t been crying, and that broke Santana’s heart even more.  
“It’s me, Britt.” Santana said quietly. Brittany still had her back to her, and turned quickly when she heard Santana’s voice.  
“Oh, San.” she moaned.  
Santana rushed to her wife’s side, gathering her up in her lap.  
“Brittany, baby, it’s okay. I’m here, I’m right here.”  
She didn’t do any more than hold tight to her wife, cradled in her arms, rocking her gently back and forth.  
After a few minutes, Brittany lifted her head, her face ruddy from crying, and placed a moist kiss to Santana’s cheek.  
“I’m sorry sweetie.” Brittany sniffled, wiping Santana’s face with the toilet paper wadded up in her hand.  
Santana would have laughed if her heart wasn’t in her throat. She said nothing but caressed Brittany’s hair, murmuring gentle love words.  
After a few more moments, Brittany sat up completely and took Santana’s hands in her own.  
“It’s okay, I promise.” She said, catching her wife’s eye.  
“Would you understand why I don’t believe you?”  
“Santana, I-“  
“What happened, Britt?” Santana said. She made sure to keep her voice gentle and calm. She made sure that her eyes conveyed all the love that she had in her heart for Brittany, and for their little family. But she knew Brittany could see the fear as well. The little wells of fear that were a constant in her heart. The ones that no matter how long time went on, and no matter how she tried, Brittany couldn’t completely erase.  
Brittany seeing the concern, sighed lightly, and ran a hand through her hair.  
“It’s Tess.”  
“Tesla? What did she do?” Santana raised an eyebrow. It’s true her daughter was no angel, but she’d never known her to make her Mom cry. In fact, she spent most of her time trying to do things that would make Brittany happy.  
“Oh, no, she didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just-“  
Santana waited for a moment for Brittany to collect herself and finish. And when her wife did speak again, her throat was tight with more tears.  
“It’s Father’s Day coming up, you know? And the kids were making gifts for their dads. And now she wants to know where her father is.”  
Santana was baffled for a moment. Of course they had talked about this conversation. They didn’t know anything about Tess’ biological dad, and had gotten the sperm from a sperm bank. They’d found a guy who’s physical profile was the most like Brittany’s (blonde, blue eyed and tall), and then read through those until they found one who’s personality they seemed to like. They’d never met him, and probably never would. Everything was done anonymously.  
They’d planned on telling Tess that they didn’t know her biological dad, but he had given them an awesome gift, and helped her to be born, so they were thankful to him. It wasn’t much, but it was a bit less clinical than the official story, and they hoped to answer all the questions she had.  
But, honestly, it wasn’t a complicated story, and it was the truth.  
“Why didn’t you just tell her what we talked about? About her being a gift?”  
Brittany sighed, as if she wasn’t getting through to Santana. “It’s not just about her asking about her dad, or being worried about being from a test tube or having gills-“  
Santana made a mental note to ask Tess to tell her the whole story later.  
“It’s the fact that she’s wondering where her real parent is. You carried her for nine months, Santana, he provided the sperm. What if…”  
Brittany didn't get a chance to finish before Santana wrapped her back up in her arms. She gently kissed Brittany all over her face, and over her cheeks. She’s covering her in love, and she hopes that Brittany can feel it as strongly as she can. Finally, she looked deep into blue eyes, holding Brittany’s attention.  
“Britt, you’re her Mom.”  
“But Santana-“  
“Kids get curious. That’s what they do. They want to know things, they want to ask questions. But you will always be her Mom. Always and forever.”  
Brittany sighed softly and leaned into Santana, melting into her side.  
“Do you remember that night we spent at the hospital, when she was born?”  
Brittany laughed. “How could I forget? You nearly broke my hand. I thought you were going to be in labor forever.”  
Santana grinned, “You thought? I’m pretty sure I AM still in labor.”  
They both chuckled at the memory as Santana played with Brittany’s fingers in her lap.  
“Then finally she was here, you know? And I was so exhausted, and you stayed with me until I fell asleep, just scratching my head in that way you know I love. I could have purred it was so good.”  
Brittany only nodded, bringing her hand to Santana’s scalp, and running her nails over it.  
“Mmm, just like that.” Santana chuckled.. “I woke up a few hours later, and you were gone. I thought you’d gone to the bathroom, but I waited for a few minutes, and you didn’t come back, so I went to search for you.”  
Brittany looked at Santana with round eyes. “I don’t remember this.”  
“Yep. I went to find you and I knew right where you’d be. I walked over to the nursery, and there you were, standing by the windows. You were so quiet, and I could see you were looking right down at our sleeping girl, and you were crying. Just crying so hard.”  
Santana squeezed Brittany tighter against the lump in her own throat and continued.  
“At first I wanted to go up and hug you tight, but then I could see past your tears, and you were smiling. You were smiling so deep, and you looked so happy, even though there were tears just running down your face. And I don’t think I ever saw anything so beautiful.”  
Santana turned and placed a soft kiss on Brittany’s temple.  
"The part of me, the part you try to kiss and love away, the part that will always worry about the little things; it told me that maybe you wouldn’t love this child. I mean, I know you, Britt, you love everything and everyone, except for maybe Rachel Berry sometimes. But, that part tried to convince me that because Tess wasn’t officially a part of you, you might hold it against her a little bit. Maybe not love her as deeply.”  
Santana could feel Brittany stiffen in her arms, and she started rubbing her back again, soothingly.  
“I know, I know, silly, but you know that part of my brain. It’s smaller than ever, thanks to you, but back then, it was still pretty loud. Anyway, that moment, when I saw you standing at the window, crying tears of joy at your healthy, beautiful daughter, I knew that you loved her just as much as if she were a part of you, because she was. Brittany, she is.”  
Santana couldn’t sit anymore, and kneeled on the floor in front of Brittany, as if she was going to propose all over again.  
“I saw it in the way that you spent weeks agonizing over her name, and then being beside yourself with joy when I agreed to let you name her after your favorite scientist of all time. I saw it in the way you always went out of your way to show her off, and how you always insisted that you hold her in the little baby carrier when we went out. I saw it in the way that you spent all of the summer of her third grade year teaching her theoretical physics because you "didn't want her to be behind". I see it in the way she loves to dance with her Mom, and the way she always comes to you first when she scrapes her knee and the way that she smiles a little grin with half her face just like you do, and how the first thing she wants to do when we go to the park is feed the ducks.”  
Santana’s words are getting a little more harried, and she has so much to say, but feels like there aren’t enough minutes to say it all.  
“I see it in the way that she treats every person like her best friend, the way that she loves to look at the sky after it rains, the way that she’s patient with me even when I don’t deserve it, and gracious and loving and kind. She is yours, Brittany. I don’t care what biology says, that little girl lives in your heart and you live in hers, and she loves you with everything she is. And she’s a Pierce, so we know she doesn’t do anything half way. She loves everything you are, and you love everything she is, and you’re so awesomely in love, if I didn’t know you, I’d totally hate you.”  
Brittany smile beamed, which was Santana’s goal all along.  
“She’s mine.” Brittany whispered, burying her face in her wife’s neck. “She’s mine.”  
“Well, duh.” Santana says in an obvious tone, once again peppering her wife’s face with kisses.  
Santana sees a movement at the door, and calls out before the figure can escape.  
“It’s okay, mija. It’s your room, come in.”  
Tesla pushes open the door, her face shiny with tears as well, and doesn’t hesitate a moment as Brittany and Santana open their arms to her. She rushes over and buries herself in her moms’ love.  
“Alm summers Mom”  
Brittany chuckles through a sniffle, and pulls Tess’ head from her shoulder.  
“What was that, sweetie?”  
“I’m sorry, Mom. I love you so much. I don’t care about having a dad, I just wanted to know, but I love you so much, and I don’t ever want you to-“  
Santana can feel Tess getting almost hysterical, so she pushes her full on into Brittany’s lap, and rubs her back, murmuring the words of love she’d just pointed at her wife.  
Brittany, for her part, manages to keep her own tears from falling, and gently rocks Tess for a few more moments.  
“Tess.” She says, quietly. “You don’t have to be sorry. You wanted to know, and you have a right to. I was just being insecure, and a little scared. But your Mami talked me out of it, and she’s right. I love you, and you love me, and that’s all that matters.”  
“But I don’t want to talk about my dad, if it makes you sad.”  
“It doesn’t make me sad, Tesla. I just don’t want to think of you growing up so fast. But no matter how big you get, you’re always going to be my little girl, and I love you so, so much.”  
“I love you too, Mommy.”  
Santana’s heart melts as Tess buries her face back into Brittany’s shoulder. She looks into Brittany’s eyes and sees the tears gathering there. Tess had stopped calling Brittany ‘Mommy’ the year before, deciding that it was too childish. Brittany had been a little sad, but had gotten used to hearing ‘Mom”.  
“So, what do you want to know, mija?” Santana asked, running her fingers through her daughter’s curly hair.  
“Well-“  
Before Tess could finish her sentence, a loud ringing echoed through their house.  
“Shit! The chicken!” Brittany bounced Tess into Santana’s arms, racing out of the bedroom, down the stairs and towards the shrieking fire alarm.  
Tess chuckled at her mom’s language, while Santana gingerly got up from her place on the floor, and took her daughter by the hand.  
“Now what’s all this about test tubes and gills?”  
Tess laughed. “I’ll tell you all about it over takeout.”  
Now it was Santana’s turn to laugh. “You really are getting more and more like your mom every day.”  
She couldn't help but notice the way Tess' face glowed with happiness. Just like her mom.


	2. Mother's Day

Brittany was seven when she figured out Pierce Pierce wasn’t her biological father.   
It had happened rather suddenly. She had gone to play at a friend’s house, and was looking at family pictures on the wall. Pictures of her brown haired friend and her brown haired father and brown haired grandfather. They all had the same happy eyes and lopsided grin. They all had the same skin, and the same freckles. They just looked alike.   
Brittany had always known she didn’t look like her dad. But it wasn’t until that day that she had put the pieces together and realized why.  
Pierce Pierce was not her biological father.   
The news didn’t shake her like her parents thought it might many years later. When her dad had come to pick her up later that day from her friend’s house, she had run into his arms as usual, letting him lift her up and swing her around, even though he was only a foot or so taller than she was (she was tall for her age). And she giggled, and cuddled him, and had gone to get ice cream afterward. Nothing had changed.   
He was still her Daddy and she was still his little girl, and who cared that they looked nothing alike?  
The only people it mattered to were the strangers who gave them looks as they held hands in the park. Or maybe the store clerks who wondered why this curious person was dancing and making faces to get the little blonde girl to laugh after she scraped her knee after falling down. Maybe some parents at school who thought it was a bit odd that a small Korean man was doing his best to balance this lanky pale kid on his shoulders, while they raced around the playground.  
But those people didn’t matter. Brittany loved her father, and he loved her, and she couldn’t imagine her life without him, so she didn’t try.   
The first time Brittany had brought Santana home from Cheerios practice, he had been waiting by the door, all grins, waiting to meet the girl who had, in his words, ‘stolen his daughter’s heart.’ He gathered Santana up in his arms for a patented Pierce Pierce Welcome Wagon Hug, and Brittany stood doubled over with laughter.   
Santana had considered it all rather strange, and asked her who that man was.   
“He’s my dad.” Was Brittany’s only reply.  
“Oh.”  
Of course, because she was Santana (and was in love with Brittany, even then), she accepted it without question, and never brought it up again.   
Many years later, Pierce and Whitney were on their way to Brittany and Santana’s home out in Westchester, and nine year old Tesla Lopez-Pierce could not have been happier.   
“Oma and Opa are almost here!”  
She had banged on Santana and Brittany’s bedroom door, and waiting only a moment, barged in, racing through the room, and jumping onto her mothers' bed.   
Brittany had been asleep before the interruption, and could offer only a soft groan in response. Santana looked up from her iPad, and chuckled.   
“Silencio, Tess, what did we say about noise in the morning?”  
“I know, Mami, but Oma just texted me and said they are in New York! They’ll be here in two hours!”  
She could barely contain her excitement, and was hopping up and down on the bed, much to Santana’s chagrin.   
Santana could hear her wife groan again under the covers, and putting away her tablet, slid from under the blanket and grabbed her daughter around the waist, picking her up with a grunt, and carried her out of the room.   
“Tess, honey, Mommy is sleeping, so we should let her sleep. Waking her up is not going to make Oma and Opa get here any sooner.” She chided softly.  
“Pero, Mamiiii…”  
“Callate, Tess. Let’s go downstairs and make some breakfast for Mommy. You can pick some flowers out of her garden, and help me to make up for waking her up. Maybe that will put her in a good mood.”  
“Like you did that time you let Aunt Rachel take me to her show and she got me that gold star tattoo that was fake, but Mommy thought it was real and-”  
“Exactly. And that’s why Mommy had to take a sabbatical from letting you hang out with Aunt Rachel.”  
They bounded down the stairs and before long, there was bacon sizzling, pancakes to be flipped, and a gallon of orange juice ready to be poured on the counter. Tesla had chosen a playlist of classic Usher, and left to go get her flowers. So, Santana was left bouncing and singing alone in the kitchen.   
“So that shawty was checking up on me. By the game she was spitting in my ear you would think that she knows me. I decided to chill. Conversation got heavy, she had me feeling like she’s ready to blow. I was saying come get me, so I got up and followed her to the floor she said, ‘baby, let’s go.’ That’s when I told her…”  
Suddenly, firm hips pressed into her butt, and strong hands wrapped around her thighs. Brittany pressed hard up against her, and started moving with the music.   
Santana would never be over the way her wife danced, and even now it was as intoxicating as ever. They swayed a few more moments, and Santana turned around in Brittany’s arms.   
Finding her wife’s lips with her own, she kissed her long and hard, grateful that she had gotten up earlier to brush her teeth while Brittany was still asleep. She broke away, turning back to the stove, and expertly flipping a pancake.   
“Tesla is making you breakfast as an apology for waking you up.”  
“Mmm.” Brittany cooed, wrapping her arms around Santana, and melting a bit into her back. “I could think of worse ways to be woken up than by my amazing daughter, and my awesome wife.”  
“Yes, but honey, the next time she bursts in we might both be awake. And both of us awake, and in bed could only mean one thing.”  
Brittany kissed the side of Santana’s neck. “Point taken. So, has she learned her lesson yet?”  
“I hope so.”  
They were quiet a few moments more, enjoying the domesticity of the scene, before Brittany spoke up again.   
“My mom texted Tess?”  
Santana laughed. “I told you, hun, she’s getting good with the technology. Pretty soon, we’ll be Skyping with them every day, just like they’ve always wanted.”  
Brittany laughed as well.   
“How far out are they?”  
“Not sure, ask Tess, she knows all the details.”  
Brittany sighed.   
“What is it, babe?” Santana asked, turning again to look Brittany in the eye.   
“It’s just that Tess is getting so big. She’s getting texts from my mom, and she’s starting 5th grade this year, and she was telling me that she’s got a crush on some boy in her class and-”  
“Wait, what? What boy?”  
Brittany’s eyes widened. “Oh, well, it’s not a big deal, just some kid. I dunno, honey, you’re missing the greater point here.”  
“My little girl had a crush on some boy? This is the greater point. Why didn’t I know about this?”  
“Because she got the feeling that you might overreact. Like you’re doing now.” Brittany smiled at her wife, gripping her hand tightly.   
“I’m not-uh- well, I just think I should know these things.”  
“It’s no biggie, sweetheart. She’ll come to you when she’s ready. She knows you’d kick this kid’s ass if she needed you to.”  
“Damn straight.”  
“It’s just… where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, and now she’s all grown up.”  
“Not quite, dear.”  
“Well, she’s getting there.”  
Santana finished stacking the last of the pancakes on a plate, turned off the stove, and turned back to her wife.   
“She’s still got plenty of growing left to go. And she’ll always be our little girl, Britt, no matter what happens.”  
Brittany’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.   
“You’re right, San, of course. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I’m getting so emotional.”  
“You’re just happy to see your parents. It’s making you all nostalgic. I told you we can go and see them more often during the year. That’ll be great for all of us. We’ll go back to Lima and alternate weeks with our parents. Tess doesn’t see them nearly enough as it is.”  
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”  
“I know. You're not the only one of us married to a genius.” She kissed the tip of Brittany’s nose, before turning to the refrigerator to grab some eggs.   
“I'm so glad I did. And a hot one at that.” Brittany said, climbing effortlessly into one of bar stools at the counter.   
Before Santana could reply, Tess bounded back into the kitchen, skipping and singing happily. Santana eyed her daughter.   
“¿Dónde están las flores, mija?”  
“I left them outside, Mami. It’s supposed to be a surprise, and I didn’t want to ruin it. Morning Mommy, I’m sorry I woke you up this morning.”  
Tesla crawled into Brittany lap, laying a head on her mother’s shoulder. Santana scoffed.   
“You can’t cuddle your way out of every problem, mi amor.”  
“Says who?” said Brittany, squeezing her daughter tight. “You know better than anyone I accept cuddles as a form of apology.”  
Tess laughed and nuzzled Brittany’s shoulder.   
“What time did Opa and Oma say they were getting here?” Santana asked, remembering Brittany’s question.   
“Um, they said two hours ago, but that was almost half an hour ago. I bet I could figure out how long it will take them to get here based on their average speed. I bet I could figure it out to the minute!”  
Tess bounced up and raced across the room to the chalkboard on the wall. She began furiously writing numbers, and Brittany sidled over, silently checking her work.  
Santana smiled. Her two big nerds. Just when she thought she couldn’t love them more, they bond over some obscure math equation and she falls even farther.   
Tesla was already doing work (both math and reading), at a high school level. But, Santana and Brittany both had fears about moving her up more levels because she was so young. Brittany was worried that she might be picked on, and Santana worried that starting high school at nine might be a little much for the young Lopez-Pierce. So, they held off, keeping her in elementary for the time being, but Brittany worked with her almost everyday, tutoring her, and giving her new projects to work on, so she wouldn’t be bored. Luckily for them, Tess was more rambunctious at home than she was at school, so she rarely had to be disciplined.  
Santana finished scrambling the eggs, and turned off the stove.   
“Ladies, I’d hate to interrupt your calculations, but if you want to be showered and dressed by the time Oma and Opa arrive, I think we should go ahead and eat now. Go wash your hands, and then set the table for us Tesla.”  
Tess looked like she wanted to argue but a stern look from Brittany brokered no resistance. She bounded off to the bathroom, and Brittany came over to the counter, setting down two mugs, and poured coffee into them. One she put a little sugar into, and handed to Santana. The other, she loaded up with spoonful after spoonful of sugar and cream, and took a few sips from it before smacking her lips happily.   
“Perfect!”  
Santana laughed, taking a few sips from her own mug. “Honey, you want a bit of coffee with your cream and sugar?”  
“I can’t help it, San. After kissing you all day, I have to add a box of sugar to make it taste sweet again.”  
Santana laughed indulgently, placing a kiss on her wife’s lips.   
“Help me make the plates, Romeo, and you’ll get all the kisses you want.”  
“Is that a promise?” Brittany said, cocking her head gently.   
“That’s a guarantee.”  
\  
The Pierces arrived exactly on hour and twenty two minutes later (Tesla was only off by thirty seven seconds, a fact that she was quite proud of). They came into the house all large suitcases, and bags, filled with gifts for their daughter and daughter in law, but mostly for their granddaughter, who they spoiled to no end.   
Brittany helped Santana unload the car, while Pierce and Whitney listened in rapt attention to Tesla explain the equation she used to figure out their exact rate of speed and arrival time. They both used the face they always made when Brittany would be talking about the high level maths that she got so excited about.   
When she finished they each wrapped their arms around her.   
“That’s our little Tessie, just like her Mama!” Whitney cooed.   
“The world’s smartest family!” Pierce echoed.   
Brittany lead Santana down the stairs, and perched on the arm of the couch.   
“Isn’t she awesome? My little girl is the smartest thing since sliced bread.”  
Santana gave her a sidelong look. “Sliced bread, darling?”  
Brittany only beamed, not noticing the non sequitur. “Yep!”  
Santana laughed, throwing her arms around Brittany’s shoulders. “Tess, you should go upstairs and get dressed. We can’t have you in your pajamas all day.”  
“Pero, Mami-”  
“Don’t pero me, hija. Porque-”  
Brittany pulled her wife closer interrupting her before she could get going on a Spanish language rant.   
“Listen to your mami, Tesla.”  
“That’s right, Tess. We’re going to the zoo later, so wear your best animal outfit!” Said Pierce  
“The zoo!” Tess squealed and raced up the stairs.   
“That kid loves the animals.” Whitney sighed happily.   
“Just like her mommy.” Pierce agreed.   
“How are things, Brittany?” Whitney asked carefully. “How’d the conversation about her dad go?”  
Brittany had called her parents a few weeks before, detailing the incident with Tess and her classmates, and how she had felt after coming home and talking about it with her moms.   
She looked at Santana, clearing her throat. It was still a sore point for her. She knew that Tesla was more than happy with her as a mom, but for the first time in her life, there was this nagging uncertainty. This disappointment.   
Santana wrapped her arms tighter around Brittany where they leaned against the couch.   
“We’re still working our way through it." Santana said, filling in for what she knew was a tough subject for Brittany. "But Tesla is okay. She’s thinking about it in her own way. In that way that she and Brittany think. They’re helping each other.”  
Whitney walked over and put her arms around her daughter, pulling her out of Santana’s embrace and into a bear hug of her own.   
“It’s okay, baby. She knows you love her more than anything, and that’s more than enough. Like you and your father. Did you ever doubt that he loved you?”  
Brittany shook her head, finding words a little difficult.   
“Then you should know that Tess will never doubt that you love her.”  
At this Brittany nodded, returning her mother’s hug.   
Santana peered around the couple, looking over to Pierce Pierce smile softly at their two statuesque wives. He gave her a thumbs up, and walked over, wrapping them both up in his arms.   
\  
Santana hadn’t seen Brittany in almost three weeks.   
It was the longest time that the Pierce’s had been in town, and Santana hadn’t made an appearance. At first, Whitney and Pierce were worried, then anxious, but then, following day after day of Brittany not wanting to talk about it, they just waited. They waited until something gave. They would listen behind Brittany’s door at night, while she cried herself to sleep. They would notice the dark bags under her eyes, and the fact that she barely ate anything, and they noticed her smile (when she did smile), didn’t shine as brightly anymore.   
They knew it had something to do with Santana, but they didn’t blame her. Santana had a lot of issues, but when she came into the Pierce household, she was always respectful and polite, and never slammed the door, or thumped loudly up the stairs. She always greeted them, and asked them about their days, and gave them news about her parents. She never kept Brittany out too late. Since Santana and Brittany were about 14 years old the Pierces knew they were in love with each other, and somehow, they knew they could trust Santana with their daughter’s heart. She was always careful, so, so careful, and she couldn’t break Brittany’s heart, even if she tried.   
And then she did.  
Santana didn’t know any of this, of course. She was in her own little world of heartbreak. First coming out to her parents, then being shunned by her abuela and the whole school talking… Now sitting on pins and needles, waiting for the commercial to drop. She felt like she was being executed. It was like she was in a guillotine, and she could feel the white, hot heaviness of the blade at the top. Taunting her.   
So, yeah, she had pushed Brittany away. She had to. She felt like the Incredible Hulk. She felt like a ticking time bomb. Just a few days before at Troubletones practice she had blown up at Ms. Corcoran and almost left the woman in tears. She hadn’t want Brittany to get caught in that kind of crossfire. The look of disappointment alone she got from her, as Santana had stormed out the makeshift choir room was enough to quench the smoldering rage in her stomach, and replace it with a burning hot shame. She wanted to save herself that feeling, too.   
So, Santana did what she always did when she felt things were getting too real: she pushed people away. Normally Brittany was immune to such things, and had been for a long time. But a hurt like this, a deep abiding thing, it made Santana do things that she didn’t like. Things that she hated. Not being around Brittany chief among those things.   
Brittany had been texting her every day since Alma had kicked her out of her house. Santana had been silly to think there would be no repercussions because of what that idiot Finn had done, but she’d been optimistic after talking with her parents. They’d always love her, they said, and who she loved didn’t matter. But all the wind had been sucked out of her sails after her abuela. And Brittany knew it.   
The texts were frantic at first, asking her if she was okay, begging her to talk. When she missed two days of school, the texts became forlorn. Brittany just patiently telling her to take care of herself, and asking her to call or text or email. After Santana came back to school, Brittany had done everything she could to corner her, and get her to talk, but it hadn’t worked, and the texts had almost all but stopped. She still sent one a day, right as Santana was getting ready to go to sleep. They always said the same thing. They always simply read, “I love you.”  
They were easy to ignore at first. There were so many noises in her head, so many voices screaming, so much anxiety that it was easy to miss that soothing, calming voice in all of it. It was that voice that she always turned to, and could always count on. The voice that counted on her too sometimes, and in those moments she would be so proud that she was strong.   
But as time went on, as the voices in her head quieted down, and the people that cared about her (really cared) started asking way too many questions about why they hadn’t seen Brittany in such a long time, and she found she dreaded that late night text. Those three words were seared into her brain, and hearing the telltale chime of her phone was almost physically painful.   
So, three weeks later, she sat in bed, eyes closed, phone on the bedside table, counting down, and waiting. The guillotine was still dropping, but there was another countdown in her head, another rustle on the edges of her mind.   
Suddenly, it happened.  
The phone dinged in a short burst signifying she had a new message.  
Santana didn’t move.   
Suddenly her bedroom ceiling began to swim. It was covered in the glow in the dark star stickers that she and Brittany had stuck up the day after Brittany’s 15th birthday. On her actual birthday her parents had surprised her with a trip to Cincinnati to take her to see Wicked. So, the next day, she had insisted on staying over at Santana’s. She had bought the stickers in Cincinnati at some gift shop, and made Santana put them up, so they could cuddle under the stars, and avoid the cold. Santana had grumbled, but done it regardless, earning a kiss for every one that was put up to Brittany’s exacting specifications.   
She’d earned fifteen perfect kisses that night. And returned every one.   
The memory made the tears that were just pooling around the corners of her eyes flow freely, running down her cheeks. The burning in her stomach, moved to her chest, and it began to roar, sounding in her ears until she could barely make out the ticking of the clock in her silent room.  
Before Santana knew it, she was pulling on a hoodie over her shirt and Cheerios sweatpants, stuffing her keys and her phone in her pocket. She opened her door quietly, and peered out. A quick look at her phone told her it was 11:33 PM, and her parents were, no doubt asleep in their bedroom.   
She quickly snuck down the hall, and down the stairs, listening for the faint sound of the TV that told her that her father had a hard day and would be watching infomercials until he fell asleep. Hearing nothing, she disabled the security alarm (making sure that it would re-arm as soon as she locked the door), and slipped out the front door.   
The night was cold, but Santana didn’t feel it. She headed to her car, putting it in neutral, and using all the strength she could muster to push the little roadster down the hill of her driveway, she managed to get it a good ways from her house before she turned the key in the ignition, and started it.   
She rode in silence.   
Normally, Santana would listen to music while she drove, but she wasn’t sure if she could hear anything above the thrumming of her pulse in her ears, and anyway she hadn’t felt much like enjoying music as of late.   
As she drove she was almost in a trance. She turned left and then right, and then left again. She hadn’t thought about where she was driving to, or what would happen when she got there, but exactly eight minutes later, she pulled up to a familiar curb.   
She could see the lights were off at Brittany’s house as well. Santana hadn’t known what she expected. Of course, she’d be asleep, Brittany always sent the text as she was going to sleep, and by now almost twenty minutes had passed since she’d received it. The Pierces went to bed generally later than her family, but a quarter to midnight was still way too late to be up on a school night. Not with Brittany’s little sister Ashley, headed into the fifth grade.   
With a sigh, Santana shut off the car, and gripped the steering wheel tightly. Everything was too big and too fast, and too much. She hated that she waited this long to come find Brittany. She hated that she’d been too afraid to.   
She got out of the car, closing it quietly behind her, and walked to the Pierce’s back yard. She’d spent plenty of time there as a kid, and in the cool night air, with the moon shining brightly above her, she could almost imagine the times that they’d played there. The times they’d sunbathed there, working on their tans. The times that Brittany had been cutting the grass, or trimming the shrubs, and Santana had watched, enthralled by her muscles rippling under her jean cut offs.   
She scoffed. How could she have ever called herself straight?  
Santana plopped down on the old wooden swinging bench that sat under an elm tree in the back yard. It creaked loudly, and Santana froze, looking up to the back of the house where she knew that Brittany’s parent’s bedroom was. When she didn’t see a light come on, or the curtains move, she relaxed, pulling her knees under her sweatshirt and to her chest, and wrapping her arms around herself.   
She must have swung there for only a few minutes before she dozed off. She didn’t remember feeling particularly sleepy but coming over had been a spontaneous act that was mostly fueled by adrenaline. Plus she had been pushing herself pretty hard for this past few weeks during Cheerios. Her favorite way of not thinking about her problems was working ridiculously hard.   
She opened her eyes to the sound of the back door opening and closing, and the dark figure was almost on top of her before she noticed, jumping so suddenly that she nearly fell out of the chair.   
“Sorry, Sarafina. The missus saw you out here on her nightly bathroom trip, and demanded I either bring you in or send you home, since it’s so chilly. I split the difference and brought you a blanket. Oh! And some cocoa.”  
Mr. Pierce stretched his hand out, giving the cocoa to Santana, before wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. He then sat down beside her, kicking the ground beneath them so the chair swung a little.   
It took Santana a moment to figure out what was going on, but quickly nodded, taking a sip of her cocoa. Her old lessons kicking in, she gave him a soft smile.   
“Thank you, Mr. Pierce. Sorry for…” Her voice trailed off. There was so much she was sorry for. She was sorry for the way she’d treated Brittany. Sorry for the way she'd disappeared. Sorry for the way that everyone had found about them. Sorry that she couldn’t protect Brittany from Finn’s stupid mouth. Sorry, sorry, sorry.   
“Just sorry, I guess.”  
Pierce looked over at Santana, giving her a sad smile.   
“There’s only one Pierce you have to apologize to, Saint Anne, and it’s not me.”  
Santana only grunted. She kept looking down at the cup, the chocolate swirling around and sending curls of steam rising into the crisp fall air.   
“Mr. Pierce, I-”  
“Brittany is special. She’s a very special girl. But, I think you know that.” Pierce Pierce looked up at the stars as he spoke. There was nothing hard about his words. They were soft and peaceful. They were as warm as the cocoa Santana held in her hands. Just as smooth.   
Santana snapped her mouth closed. She nodded.   
“I love both my daughters very much. And they both love me. But Ashley is like her mother. She thinks about things in a straight line. When I met Brittany’s mother I was working at a pizza place. Did you know that? She was already a manager at Linen’s and Things, and they were looking to send her to the corporate office. She was a rising star, and once she gets a goal in mind, she sticks with it. Ashley is the same way. She’s only in elementary school, but she’s already planning on joining the Cheerios junior squad once she’s in middle school. She’s always making plans, that one, always working towards her goals. I love that about her.”  
Santana nodded again, sipping slowly at her cocoa. She was sure that Mr. Pierce had a point, he always did, but sometimes it took him a while to get there.   
“Brittany is like me. She finds interest and joy in the smallest things, it takes so little to make her happy, and a lot to make her sad.” He sighed sadly. “And when she loves you, it’s like a little piece of the sun shining down on you.”  
Santana felt the corners of her mouth turn up. Of course it was like that. Brittany was like the most amazing sunny day. She could make Oscar the Grouch feel like dancing. She was kind of a genius at it.   
“Now, you’ve spent a lot of time here, over the years. I’ve gotten to know you Santita, and I know that you love like a slow burn. It doesn’t happen all at once, but once it does, it’s like a freight train. It’s a beautiful thing to witness. I get the feeling that many people don’t get to see it. Your parents, us, Brittany, and that’s a shame.”  
Mr. Pierce turned to look at Santana again.  
“I don’t know what happened between the two of you, or at school. Your parents have told us to be patient with you, to just be patient and give you love, and we will, like we always have, but you don’t have to be afraid to step out in the sun every once in a while. It might do you some good.”  
Santana wanted to ask what he meant. She wanted to know how he could know all that about her, or how much he knew about her and Brittany. But if the moon in the sky was any indication, it was too late to have that conversation. She yawned.   
“Thanks, Mr. Pierce.”  
He patted her shoulder enthusiastically. “My pleasure. Now, let’s get you in before you freeze to death. That kills more people in the state of Ohio than bears.”  
He gathered up the blanket, and stood, making his way towards the house.   
Santana blinked, incredulous. “You’re not going to send me home?”  
“Nah, it’s too late. Plus, I have the feeling that Brittany will never forgive me. I’ll call your parents and tell them you’re spending the night.”  
Santana scrambled up behind him, careful not to spill her cocoa.  
“Thank you, thank you so much.”  
Pierce stood for a moment before gathering up Santana in his arms, and hugging her tightly.   
“Of course. Now get up stairs. And remember, it’s a school night, no fooling around.”  
Santana swallowed loudly. She didn’t know what he meant by ‘fooling around’, but she didn’t stick around to find out. She raced up the stairs as quietly as she could, brushed her teeth with the toothbrush she kept at Brittany’s house, and changed into the sleep clothes that were always waiting for her in the top drawer of Brittany’s dresser.   
She stood at the head of the bed, not surprised that Brittany hadn’t woken up yet, she seriously slept like the dead. Brittany’s features were illuminated in the soft moonlight, her blonde hair cascading around her shoulders in waves. She looked like an angel.  
Santana slid under the covers, and heard a gasp as her legs, still cold from the crisp night air, rubbed against Brittany’s.   
“What-?” She started. Her eyes opened and widened in surprise. “San! What are you doing here?”  
Santana managed to look bashful and shy, even laying in bed with Brittany.   
“I got your message and came over. I wasn’t going to come in, but your dad told me I could.”  
Brittany still looked unsure. “Why didn’t you call me or text me, or anything, San, I was so- I just-” She couldn’t finish. Her breathing started coming out in hiccups as tears threatened.   
Santana gathered Brittany up in her arms, and rubbed her back softly, hushing her. “I know, I know. I’m so sorry, Britt. I was just stuck in my own little world, and I didn’t think about anything but me. I thought I was doing you a favor by staying away, but I didn’t realize- Anyway, I’m sorry, Brittany.”  
Brittany sighed, and allowed her body to melt into Santana’s. Her tears subsided, and she sniffled a few times, clearing her throat before speaking.   
“I missed you, Santana.”  
“I missed you too, Brittany. So much.”  
They laid in silence.  
“I love you too, Brittany.”  
\  
To say that the Pierce-Lopezes loved the zoo would be a gross understatement. Everyone in the family was crazy about animals, even Santana who spent most of her time pretending to be too cool for most things, and everyone had their favorite spot to visit. They’d already been there for two hours, and they had yet to see the elephants (Brittany’s favorite), the panthers (Santana’s favorite), or visit the food court (Pierce’s favorite). They were stuck at the parrots at the moment. Tesla had one in particular that she was fond of, and every time she’d come she’d try to teach it a new word or phrase. This week it was some of the lyrics to “Keep on Loving You” by REO Speedwagon.   
Santana and Brittany sat spread on a park bench, laughing as Tesla crooned out the lyrics. Brittany had her feet on Santana’s lap, and was nudging her wife with her foot.   
“She certainly inherited your pipes, darling.” Brittany smiled.   
Santana nodded happily. She was watching the little girl with what could only be described as heart eyes. Her love and pride in her daughter beaming through.   
“Yep! Let’s see the Warbler spawn sing 80’s power ballads like that!”  
“Now, San, you promised you’d stop calling her spawn.”  
Santana rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. To her face, I think is what I said.”  
“Our daughter is pretty awesome.”  
“Yep.”  
They sat for a few moments more in comfortable silence.   
Santana cocked her head to the side, regarding Brittany carefully. “What would you say to another one?”  
Brittany didn’t respond at first. She played with Santana’s fingers in her lap.   
Santana, for her part, started to panic. She usually could read her wife pretty well, and her mentioning Tesla growing up quickly in the kitchen earlier, and just generally being more baby crazy than she usually was… But they’d never talked about another child before. Not seriously anyway. Ever since Tess was a baby, Brittany had hinted that she might want to try again. That maybe she’d want to carry this time. But, Santana’s pregnancy had been expensive, and felt like it would never end, and after that, she was a little skittish about the whole prospect. But they were most definitely more financially stable than they were the first time. And just thinking of Brittany, all big belly and pregnancy shirts, made Santana feel like maybe it was a conversation worth having. Now, sitting there, having been the first to bring the subject up, Brittany’s silence made her think it wasn’t the best idea.   
“Or, not. I mean, I was just wondering. Cause you said the thing about Tesla getting older, and I know she’s maybe too old now for a younger sibling, and we just had so much trouble when I was pregnant with Tesla, and I-”  
Brittany cut her off with a gentle kiss. She pressed her lips fully against Santana’s, stemming the words, but also the rise of panic that was evident in Santana’s eyes.   
“I think it’s an amazing idea. And I’m a little sad because I didn’t think of it first.”  
“Really?”  
“I love you, Santana. I love you so much. And I love Tess. Our family is awesome, and I would love to have another baby with you.”  
Santana squealed with joy, then caught herself, and straightened up, kissing Brittany happily. She wrapped her arms around Brittany, giggling wildly. Brittany returned her hug, and they nearly fell off the bench.   
Santana’s eyes widened as she thought of the implications of their decision.   
“Oh my god, we’ll have to get all of Tess’s old stuff out of storage. I don’t even know what we can use anymore. And, we’ll have to convert one of the guest rooms. And, we have to tell our parents. My mom is going to freak. Your mom is going to freak. Tess is going to freak! What if it’s a boy? Mercedes and Sam are already going to be planning the wedding with their rugrat-”  
“Babe.”  
Santana looked at Brittany sharply, breaking her concentration.   
“Huh?”  
“Nobody’s pregnant yet. Just breathe, we’ll figure it all out.”  
Santana followed her instruction, trying to calm herself. She relaxed in Brittany’s calming hand on her back.   
“Let’s just keep it between us for the moment, huh?”  
“Good idea.” Brittany placed a gentle kiss on Santana’s forehead.   
Their tender moment was interrupted as Tesla bounded over and jumped into Santana’s lap. She grunted.   
“Careful, mija.”  
“¡Mami! ¡Finalmente, el loro cantó para mí! Al principio, no me hacía caso, y no portaba muy bien, pero de repente me miró, me miró directamente al ojo, Mami, y empezó las tres primeras notas de la canción. Con algunos días más, creo que le puedo ayudar cantar la canción entera. It’s a rough estimate, of course, if I could have some sunflower seeds, I could speed it up even more! Oma and Opa la vieron, didn’t you? Lo oyeron, Mami.”  
Tesla was bouncing excitedly in Santana’s lap. And Santana was trying her best to calm the frantic movements of her little girl.   
“Bien, bien, Tesla Alma, pero Mami no es un see saw.”  
“Desculpe, Mami, perdon.” Tesla apologized quickly.   
She jumped off of Santana’s lap, and rushed back over to her grandparents, who were walking their way.   
“On second thought, Tesla might be more than enough.” Brittany joked. She smiled looking over to Santana, who had tears in her eyes.   
“Another baby, Brittany.”  
Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana, pulling her close.   
“I know, babe. Won’t it be amazing?”  
\  
They got back home by 6 PM. Tesla; from a combination of gorging herself on pizza at the restaurant they stopped in on the way home, getting skee ball lessons from expert skee baller Pierce Pierce, and running herself ragged at the zoo, promptly passed out on the couch, curled up in Whitney’s arms. Her grandmother wasn’t quite ready to let her go, so she smoothed Tesla’s hair with soft touches, while the four of them discussed the newest stage show that Brittany was choreographing.   
After a while, Brittany rose, slinging Tesla onto her shoulder, and hefting her up the stairs. She smiled as she listened to her father launch into one of his epic stories. Apparently, this was the time he’d helped Brittany choreograph one of her first Broadway shows. It was all true, of course. While her father wasn’t much of a dancer, his very unique way of moving had always been an inspiration to her. She had watched him move around the kitchen preparing breakfast in bed for their wives one Saturday, and had come up with a complete second act.   
Brittany walked Tesla into the bedroom, laying her down on the bed while she prepared a warm wash cloth and grabbed her daughter’s favorite dinosaur pajamas from her dresser. She softly shook Tesla awake, sitting her up, and kneeling in front of her.   
“Up, baby.” She said, pulling Tesla’s shirt over her head.   
Tesla mumbled incoherently, but complied, and it was only a few minutes later that she lay down, comfortable and ready for bed. Brittany didn’t leave right away, opting instead to sit beside her, rubbing Tesla’s back softly. She got ready to head back downstairs when she heard Tesla’s gentle sigh.   
“What’s up, chickadee?”  
“Opa... Grandpa Pierce. He doesn’t look like you or Oma.”  
Brittany resumed her rubbing of Tesla’s back. She grunted in the negative.   
“Did kids ever, you know, make fun of you because of it?”  
Her question was so quiet and small that Brittany wanted to gather Telsa up in her arms then and there. But she refrained, clearing her throat a few times before answering.   
“Maybe. I don’t really remember. Kids would make fun of me from time to time. Until I met your Mami and she taught me how to stand up for myself. Kids will make fun even if there’s nothing to make fun of. If they want to.”  
She watched carefully as Tesla nodded.   
Waiting a beat, she continued. “Are there kids in your class making fun of you, Tess?”  
“Oh no, Mommy, nothing like that. I mean, not because of you or Mami. They sometimes call me a know it all, but I don’t mind. Mami says they’re just jealous of my ‘super high IQ and eidetic memory.’”  
Brittany chuckled softly. “Is that so?”  
“Yeah.” Tesla mumbled sleepily. “But, I don’t think my memory is that good. One time I got lost on the way back to my locker.”  
Brittany smiled. “Well, intelligence shows itself in a lot of ways, Tess. I would trust your Mami on this one.”  
“I do. She’s really smart too.”  
“Yup.”  
They sat a few moments more until Tesla yawned again.   
“D-do you think Opa ever thought of you as any different? Different than Auntie Ash? Because she looks a bit like him and Oma, and you don’t?”  
The unasked question hung in the air. Brittany felt her chest constrict at the thought. Tesla had never considered herself anything but Brittany’s child, but now she knew that, at least biologically, she wasn’t. She cleared her throat, stretching out on the bed, and pulling Tesla close into her arms.  
The little girl didn’t protest, but instead wrapped her arms around Brittany, snuggling into her favorite position on her mother’s shoulder.   
“Did I ever tell you the story of when I found out your Mami was pregnant?”  
Tesla, whose eyes were already closed, wrinkled her nose, and shook her head.  
“Remember I told you how we had to go to a hospital and get a doctor’s help so your Mami could be pregnant with you? Well, it took us some time to do it just right. You have to be very precise, and you have to be lucky. It took us almost six months. We would go to the doctor’s office once a month, and they’d give your Mami a shot, and then we’d wait and wait and wait. And every time, Mami would take a little test to see if she was pregnant, and every time the test would say no.”  
She smoothed her hands through Tesla’s blond curls.   
“We were sad and we were scared because we wanted you so badly, Tesla, and we were worried that you’d never come.”  
She gave Tesla a squeeze.   
“So, we decided we’d give it three more tries. Not because we wanted to give up, but getting the shot was hard for Mami, and I didn’t want her to be too sick any more. I thought maybe we’d try a few more times, and if you didn’t come, we’d wait another year. We knew we wanted you more than anything, Tesla, but we thought it would be okay if we waited. Mami was a bit sad, but she said okay. It had been about two months since the last time we went to the doctor’s by then. Mami was still feeling a little sick, and she took some time off of work to go to Lima to be with Abuela and Abuelo, and I hadn’t seen her in almost a week because I had a show.”  
“She was supposed to come back on a Friday, I think, and made me promise that I would stay home and get some rest, and she would take a taxi back from the airport. This was still when we lived in the city, and lived by Aunt Rachel, and Uncle Kurt and Blaine. Do you remember the old apartment, Tess?”  
Tess nodded.   
“Anyway, so, I was worried because she had been so sick lately, and I was sad because I hadn’t seen her in so long, and I was lonely, because you know how I get without your Mami. And I called your grandad. You know Opa always has the best advice.”  
“Like the time he helped me put my underwear in the oven!”  
Brittany laughed. “Exactly. So, I told him everything, how worried about you that I was, how scared I was that I wouldn’t do a good job as a Mommy, everything. And do you know what he told me?”  
Tesla shook her head.   
“He told me that he had been scared too, when Oma was pregnant with me. He had fretted and worried and paced. But when it was all over, when Oma put me in his arms, he knew it was going to be okay. He knew it because he loved me more than anything, and even though there were times later when he didn’t get everything right, and he sometimes worried about me eating too much candy, or falling off the jungle gym, or getting my heart broken, he said he knew that he would always be there to help me get back up.”  
Brittany sighed. “So, I was a bit happier. I was still a little worried, and still a lot lonely, but I knew that one day you would come along, and I would love you so much, and everything would be worth it, every single sad day that I had would be worth a thousand happy ones with you and Mami.”  
“Then later that day, your Mami got home. She was acting really weird, and I mean, weird. She was happy to see me, and that’s normal, and we spent a fair amount of time, um, kissing, you know.”  
Tesla buried her face in Brittany’s shoulder and groaned. “Gross.”  
“Yep, and she went to her bag and brought out a little box. Just the smallest box, like something you’d put a watch in. And she told me she got me a present. It was weird, because she didn’t usually bring me back something from Lima, but she said she saw it, and knew I’d want it forever and ever. So, I take it from her, and I’ll never forget, Tess, as long as I live, her smile was so wide. It was like her face was going to split in half, it was so big. So, I take the box, and I open it, and inside is a pregnancy test, and it says, “Pregnant” right on the front, in big letters.”  
Brittany smiles at the memory.   
“At first I couldn’t believe it, but Mami told me that she’d been feeling so sick that she saw her doctor in Lima the day before, who did a bunch of tests and figured out she was pregnant. The first time we took the test after her shot must have been too soon or something. And, guess what, she was pregnant with you! I picked her up, and I carried her all around the apartment, yelling and laughing, and finally we laid down on the bed, and um, cuddled for the rest of the day. We called everybody we knew and we invited Aunt Mercedes and Uncle Sam, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jesse, Uncle Kurt and Uncle Blaine and cousin Sofie and we had a huge party. And that’s the first night I felt it. That very first night when I knew I was going to be a Mommy. You were too small for me to feel or see, but I knew you were in there, and I could feel how much I loved you already, deep inside my heart. I could feel how excited I was to meet you, and I could feel how lucky I was to have you and Mami. And I still feel that way, mija. And I finally felt the way that Opa felt about me, and Aunt Ash, and the way Abuela and Abuelo felt about Mami when she was born. I felt complete. I realized that even though Opa and I don’t look that much alike-”  
And I don’t look very much like you.  
“-that feeling that you have, of loving your child, it changes you, and it’s the kind of love that makes you think about everything differently. It makes you realize that you’d do anything for that person who depends on you, who trusts you, who looks up to you, who loves you. Opa is my dad. He always will be because he’s always loved me like a dad should and I never doubted that. Not for a minute.”  
Tesla smiled sleepily, pulling Brittany a bit closer. “I love you, Mommy.”  
“I love you too, Tesla Alma Lopez-Pierce.”  
Brittany made herself comfortable, dozing a bit as she lay wrapped in her daughter’s arms. She woke to the sound of footsteps approaching the bed.   
“You two look comfortable.” Santana sat down on the bed beside them, covering the Brittany’s hand on Tesla’s chest with her own.   
“I wanted to spend some time with my daughter, what can I say?”  
“Your parents want to watch that new Black Widow movie, and it’s on Netflix, so I said I’d come and get you. I know how much you love watching Scarlett Johansson kick guys’ butts while wearing spandex.”  
Brittany turned her hand and grasped her wife’s. “I never would have forgiven you otherwise.”  
“Well, good thing.”  
“Yeah.”  
There was a beat, and neither said anything.   
“How about in the meantime we lay here a bit longer, and cuddle our daughter?” Brittany asked.   
“Now, you’re talking.” Santana slid down the bed, squeezing herself between the quietly snoring Tesla and the roll bar. Her daughter, like her Mommy, slept like a rock, so she didn't worry much about disturbing her. She sighed. “Much better.”  
Brittany squeezed her hand lightly. “Can you imagine? One day it might be four of us trying to cram ourselves into this tiny bed.”  
“No way. We’re only doing family pile ons in our bed from now on.”  
“Wherever we are, it’s going to be perfect.”  
“I know, babe.”  
Another beat.   
“Brittany?”  
“Hmmm, Santana?”  
“I can’t wait to have another baby with you.”  
“Me either, San.”  
They lay there, in bed a few minutes more, watching over their sleeping daughter.


	3. Children's Day

Tesla Alma Lopez-Pierce was used to being the center of attention. For a long time she was the only prodigy of Brittany and Santana Lopez-Pierce, and that came along with four grandparents and a slew of faux aunts and uncles who couldn't wait to shower her with love and affection. The closest thing that she had to a sibling was the family cat, Lord Tubbington, and though she was pretty sure he still weighed more than her, he didn’t really count.   
And so year after year, glorious birthday after glorious birthday, she sat at the top of the pile, so to speak. While her social life left something to be desired, she was really happy all around. Her parents were proud of her, and she was planning on asking them to let her skip a grade or two in the coming school year. Tesla knew they’d been talking about it, and she wanted to convince them that she was up to the challenge. At the end of the school day, she would come home after class, usually to meet her Mommy at the bus stop near her house, and they’d walk the short distance back to the house, sometimes racing, sometimes balancing on the curb to see who could go the longest without falling. She relished this time with Brittany, who’d been spending more and more time at the dance studio, leaving her and Mami to while away the hours after her homework was done. The dancing was a seasonal thing, and it was supplemented by more time at her teaching job, as she geared up to travel for her research presentations. It was Tesla’s least favorite time of the year, because it was sometimes a week between sightings of her Mom, which made her Mami cranky, and affected her mood as well.   
But today was a rare day for her during the busy season, and she was delighted to have some time with her Mom, though today she was a bit quieter than usual. Tesla was surprisingly keyed into her Mom’s moods, and knew exactly what she was going to say before she said it. It really didn’t make it any easier.   
“How was school today, Tess?”  
Tesla grabbed a fallen branch, and dragged it behind her, raking pebbles from side to side.   
“Good, I guess. A little boring. I’m so happy you’re home, Mom, because I’ve been working on this new equation, and I really needed your help.”  
Tesla hoped that her voice sounded excited. She was pretty excited to get to spend some time doing math with her Mom, it was one of her favorite things. But the conversation that they needed to have still hung over them like a cloud.   
She’d known that something was going on with her parents for a while now actually. They thought they were doing a good job hiding things but Tesla still knew. They’d starting doing that thing where they’d sometimes stop talking the moment she entered the room. They thought she wouldn’t notice, but they’d forgotten that her Mami was pretty much the snoop of the century, and she’d inherited those genes. At first she’d thought it was about her tenth birthday party, which was only a few months away, but that idea went out the window when her Mami had asked what kind of party she’d wanted, and if there were any friends she’d like to invite one night as she was tucking her into bed.   
And then it’d hit her like a ton of bricks. She’d gone to use the computer to look at a soldering set that she’d been begging her Mami for for weeks (her Mom had already agreed, but Santana had thought it was too dangerous for a nine year old), and she accidentally opened the previous tabs.   
It was a Google search for “Good prenatal vitamins?”  
Tesla knew how protective her Mami could be, and also knew that she had been acting more protective of her Mom, even more than usual; trying to keep Tesla from bounding into her lap, scooping her up before she she land on her on the days when Tesla would hop into bed. She tried to be more careful, but sometimes found herself getting carried away. It even got to the point when Mami and Mom would argue quietly (but intensely) when Mom would try and tuck Tesla under her arm and carry her down the stairs like she'd done since Tesla was a baby. .   
The discovery had only been a few days prior, but Tesla had managed to ignore the pang in her chest, and the butterflies in her tummy. She didn’t know whether to be happy or sad, and had simply chosen to ignore it the best that she could. Now, walking beside her Mom, she could practically feel Brittany trying to figure out how to broach the subject.   
“Oh yeah, honey? A new formula, huh? We’ll get to work on it right after you finish your homework.”  
Tesla smiled and nodded, dropping her stick and taking Brittany’s hand. “I’m glad it’s just you and me right now, Mommy. I miss you so much when you’re not here.”  
Brittany stopped, turning towards Tesla, and her daughter could see the tears forming in her eyes. Tesla took a step back, alarmed.   
“I’m sorry, Mommy, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”  
Brittany sank down to her knees and gathered Tesla up in her arms. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve just been really emotional lately. It’s nothing to worry about. I’m glad to spend time with you, and I miss you too, so much.”  
Tesla bit her lip and hugged Brittany tightly. Being Santana’s daughter, after her discovery she had done a bunch of research, and even asked kids in her class everything they knew about pregnant women. Stevie Nickel, one of the few kids in her class who was a bigger nerd than she was, said that his mom spent half of the time yelling and the other half crying for a whole month while she was pregnant. Tesla wasn’t very happy to have that to look forward to for who knows how long.   
“It’s okay, Mommy.” Tesla patted Brittany’s back, and held on a second longer, until her mother pulled away slightly.   
“How about we take a detour, and go to that ice cream shop that your Mami is always trying to steer us away from?”  
Tesla smiled and nodded, but without as much excitement as she normally would have given at the prospect of ice cream (She was Brittany Pierce’s daughter, of course), and Brittany took her hand and led her away from their house.   
\  
It was only a few hours later, as Tesla sat over her homework in the kitchen that her Mami came home, slamming the door as she usually did behind her. The weather had finally broken and it seemed like Spring was just around the corner. It was Santana’s favorite time of year, and the crabbiness of the Winter went away, replaced by a kind of cautious optimism. For the most part Spring was a slow time of year at Santana’s firm, and she would trade in long days at the office for half days and telework, so she could spend as much time as possible with Tesla and Brittany. Today seemed a little out of the ordinary because it was almost dark before she burst through the door, blustering loudly as she shook off her coat.   
“De mierda wind. I would have thought it would have been all blown out by now.”  
“Language, Mami.” Tesla tsked from the kitchen counter.  
Santana ducked her head, tucking a wisp of dark hair behind her ear and leaned into kiss her daughter on the forehead.   
“Perdon, bebe. Mami is just dealing with a lot at the moment.”  
“What happened? An interesting case? Something with a murder this time?” Tesla bounced in her seat excitedly. She loved hearing about Santana’s grisly cases, though generally they were few and far between.  
“No, mija. I’m helping your Aunt Mercedes and Uncle Sam with the record company they’re trying to get off the ground, remember? Basic, boring business law.”  
Tesla made a face. “Oh, yeah.” She thought a moment before brightening again. “Does that mean it won’t be long before we can go see Aunt Mercedes on tour again?”  
Santana laughed, wrapping one arm around her daughter, while scrolling through emails on the phone in her other hand. “Yep, would seem like.”  
“I had SO much fun in Tokyo last year. All the kids in my class were jealous.”  
Santana looked up from her phone, and locked it before putting it in her pocket. “Well, Tess, even at your school not everyone is as fortunate as we are to be able to travel and do nice things like that. I don’t want you getting a big head, and thinking that you’re better than anyone.”  
Tesla shook her head. “Oh no, no, Mami, Yo no haría eso. I just think it’s pretty cool is all.”  
Santana hugged Tesla closer to her. “Bien, bien. Esa es mi Tessita. You’re the sweetest girl I know.”  
Another kiss on top of Tesla’s head, and Santana moved around to the stove, frowning slightly.   
“Where’s Mom? She didn’t start dinner?”  
Tesla put her head down, and pretended to focus on her homework. After they’d come back from ice cream, Brittany had said she wasn’t feeling well, so she’d gone to lay down. That was almost an hour and a half ago, and she still wasn’t up. Tesla had felt guilty enough to go lay down with her for a little while, but she’d known that Santana would not be happy if her homework wasn’t done by the time she got home, so she finally went downstairs to finish.  
“She’s got a stomach ache, so she’s laying down. She said we can order take out tonight. And she said I could pick.”  
Tesla couldn’t be bothered to hide her disappointment. Her mother was obviously not feeling well because of the baby, and Tesla was a little annoyed with her new brother or sister because of the way it was making Brittany feel. She ignored the gentle pat on her back while Santana hurried out of the kitchen.   
“Well, what Mommy wants, Mommy gets. You pick the place, and I’ll order when I come back down.”  
Santana was almost out of the kitchen before she stopped and turned slowly around. “Mommy didn’t say anything to you today, did she? About some news?”  
Tesla perked up. Was one of her mother’s finally going to tell her everything?   
“What news?” She asked, carefully.   
“Oh, nothing. I just thought she might have asked about your birthday, you know.” Santana trailed off. She blew Tesla another kiss and was out the door. “Make sure you finish your homework soon, Tess.” she called over her shoulder.   
“Sure.” Tesla sighed.   
She’d hoped to get some information out of Santana. Her Mami really was a sweetheart, and Tesla could disarm her with one well timed pout, but Mommy was pretty much a sucker for them, and Mami was getting better and better at ignoring them. She quickly finished up her homework, and went to the kitchen drawer where they kept their take out menus. She knew that Mommy love spicy food when her stomach was hurting, but what if spicy food hurt the baby? She’d have to Google that later. She took the Mexican menu, and a pizza one just to be safe, and climbed the stairs, walking up to her mothers’ door, and raising a hand knock.   
“Britt, we’ve got to tell her.”  
Tesla froze.   
“I knoooowwwww.” Brittany whined, her voice muffled as though buried in a pillow.  
“Then you’ve gotta do it.”  
Brittany’s voice was clearer now. She must have sat up to face Santana. “Why me? I can’t, San. She just looks at me with those big eyes, and I just can’t…”  
“Why not, mi amor? We talked about this. It’s important that it comes from you.”  
“I know.”  
“And you had the perfect opportunity today-”  
“What if she thinks about what we talked about late last year? What if it all circles back to who her real parent is?” Brittany blurted.  
Tesla’s heart was in her throat. What did her mom mean by that? Having pushed this whole baby thing to the back of her brain, she hadn’t really thought about the implications. Did this mean that her mommy finally had a child of her own? What would that mean for her? Mami certainly wouldn’t disown her. Not now, right? But the way that she pampered Brittany… What if she had to choose between Tesla and the new baby? She started to panic, and took a step back from the door.   
She hadn’t looked behind her, because if she had, she would have noticed Lord Tubbington skulking about, and certainly wouldn’t have planted her foot directly on his tail.   
He screeched, bolting in the opposite direction, and Tesla found herself tumbling backwards, landing on the ground with a thump.   
The door to her parent’s bedroom opened in a flash, and Santana was on her knees beside her, cooing gently, and feeling around the back of her head for bumps. Brittany stood in the doorway, and Tesla could see that she had been crying. She crossed her arms in front of her and watched Tesla from where she stood, as if she were afraid to come any closer.   
“Are you okay, baby?” Santana said softly.  
Tesla pushed her Mami’s hands away from her head, and sat up quickly.   
“I just stepped on that stupid cat.” She said, straightening her clothes and clambering to her feet.   
Brittany was shocked. “Language, Tesla Alma! You know better than the talk about Tubs like that. He’s very sensitive.”  
“He’s just a dumb cat, he doesn’t have feelings.” Tesla yelled, crossing her own arms now, angrily.   
“Tess-” Brittany started, taking a step forward.  
“And you’re dumb for thinking anything else!”  
Brittany’s eyes went wide with shock. Tesla had never spoken to her Mommy like that before, and it made her feel sick to her stomach. She covered her mouth, and raced to the bathroom, barely locking the door behind her and making it to the toilet before the remnants of her afternoon snack found their way into the bowl. She sat on the floor beside the bathtub for a few moments, trying to catch her breath.   
She wasn’t sure what had come over her. Tesla had been so angry, and she wasn’t really sure why. She loved Brittany, adored her, in fact. Her Mommy was gentle and kind but lively and boisterous and always was the first person to run into her room when she was crying from having a bad dream. But this baby… This baby could change everything.   
She hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth. She pressed her face against her knees, but couldn’t stem the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. She muffled her sobs against her legs, and heard a soft knock at the door.   
It was Brittany.  
“Tesla, honey? Mija, please open the door, okay?”  
Tesla didn’t say anything but sat on the floor a moment longer.   
“Tess, you know how Mami is, okay? She went downstairs to get the tool kit, and I don’t want her breaking down the door.” Brittany said, a touch of humor in her voice.   
Tesla sighed and stood up, walking on shaky legs to the door. She took a deep breath, bracing herself and turned the knob.   
Brittany stood at the door, her hair disheveled, and eyes still red from crying. Tesla fell forward, ignoring the care she had been trying to take with her mom’s tummy, and crashed into her, wrapping her arms around Brittany’s waist.   
“I’m sorry, Mom.” She said, doing her best to control her sniffling.   
Brittany returned the hug, placing a hand under Tesla’s chin, and stroking her face gently. “Tess, what has gotten into you?”  
“I’ve got a tummy ache. I shouldn’t have eaten so much ice cream. I think I just want to go to bed.”  
Brittany nodded. “Okay, baby. I’ll come and tuck you in.”  
“It’s okay, Mommy. I’m just going to get in my pajamas and go to bed.”  
She pulled away from Brittany and raced down the hall, closing the door behind her.   
\  
Brittany found Santana elbow deep in her tool kit at the back the garage, grumbling angrily in Spanish. She was surrounded by tools, which she’d strewn about in an effort to find the one she was looking for, and it would have been a pretty sexy scene if it weren’t for what Brittany had just witnessed a few moments before.   
“She knows, Santana.” Brittany exclaimed, dragging her wife’s attention from the dirty toolbox.   
“What? Britt, how could she know? We haven’t said anything, and we’ve both been careful, right? Anyway, you’re only a couple months along, and we didn’t know ourselves until about a week ago.”  
“I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but she knows.”  
Brittany pulled herself onto the trunk of her Audi, crossing her legs, propping her elbows up on her thighs, and burying her face in her hands.   
Santana grimaced about the shoe prints on the detail job she’d driven her wife’s car out to get but decided to focus on the much more pressing issue, which was her wife’s unhappiness and her daughter’s near breakdown.   
She’d never heard Tesla speak to anyone like that before, much less Brittany. If anything, Santana figured she’d have a few more years before she and Tesla were having full on screaming matches in Spanish, like she had done with her mother when she was a teen. But she hadn’t expected that until Tesla was at least a bit older. Maybe even later if Tesla never grew out of the awkward stage that she was currently in. But when it was all said and done, she figured that she’d be the one receiving the brunt of Tesla’s teen anger, not Brittany. Tesla seemed to worship her Mommy, and was pretty much resolved to do anything she could to keep her happy. Especially since the revelations of the last year, it had seemed to Santana that they’d grown even closer, if that was even possible.   
That made this most recent outburst all the more surprising.   
Santana walked over to Brittany, and took her hands in her own. She then turned both of Brittany’s hands palm up and gently kissed the center of each one. She then placed their hands down in Brittany’s lap, stilling them, and smoothed her hands over Brittany’s shoulders, slowly up and down the sides, matching the gestures up and down to the rhythm of her own steady breathing. She waited until Brittany’s breathing matched her own before she spoke again.  
“If you think she knows, we should talk to her. We can talk to her right now.” Santana didn’t move but braced herself, and was proven right when Brittany grasped her arms.   
“No, not now. She’s not feeling well, she was sick. She went to bed. We’ll talk to her tomorrow. I’ll be home to meet her, and we’ll go for a walk before dinner.”  
“Sure, but tomorrow night is dinner with Samcedes, supposedly. If we manage to get all the stupid paperwork with their label taken care of. But we can cancel, and reschedule with them next week. I think you have a free evening on Wednesday-”  
“No, no, Samcedes is important too. I’ll talk to her before dinner, and then she can spend some time with Mercedes, Sam, and little Lila. She always likes spending time with Lila, maybe that’ll help her feel better.”  
“Okay, okay honey.” Santana resumed her rubbing of Brittany’s shoulders. “Can we at least go back inside to figure this out? That wind has got this garage fricking freezing.”   
Brittany nodded, and slid off the car into Santana’s arms, who walked with her back into the house, closing the door behind them. She sat Brittany down on the couch, wrapping her up in a blanket, and put on some soup for her to eat (even though her wife insisted that she wasn’t hungry), and then jogged up the stairs to Tesla’s room.   
She didn’t bother knocking, but slipped quietly into the dim bedroom, slowly making her way over to the bed. The faint glimpses of sunset illuminated the room, but Tesla’s bedroom was normally neat, and there was nothing on the floor to trip her up.   
Santana sat on the bed with a thump, and waited a moment, listening to the steady breathing of her daughter.   
“You really upset your Mommy today. And I know you didn’t mean it, mija, but it happened all the same. I want you to think about how you feel right now, and multiply that by a hundred, because that’s how bad your mommy feels when you yell at her. Escucha me, Tesla Alma. I learned it the hard way. The worst thing you can ever see is a sad Brittany Lopez-Pierce. She loves you, honey. She loves you very much. Don’t ever forget that. And I love you too.”  
Santana didn’t wait for a response, but leaned down to kiss her daughter on the head, and walked towards the door, turning before she left.   
“She’ll be up later to kiss you goodnight, Tess.”  
With that she left, leaving the door open a crack behind her.   
She was a little angry with Tess, but more bewildered. There was no way that she had found out about the baby, right? They’d taken a lot of care not to let on. But Tess was smart like her mother. If anyone could have figured it out, it would be Tesla. That’s why they’d waited so long before they’d told her. They wanted to make sure they could phrase it in a way that would make sense in her too advanced, but still immature mind. It worried Santana. Tesla had always been such an easy to manage child. She rarely misbehaved, and when she did, it was usually because she was too excited about something or stayed up half the night reading, not because she was deliberately setting out to be disobedient.   
Santana brushed a hand through her hair in an attempt to calm herself before she went back down the stairs. Brittany was still lying on the couch, staring off into nothingness, sniffling quietly. She’d gotten pretty emotional since all her baby hormones had kicked in, making her much more sensitive than usual. Usually it was Santana crying about every milestone Tesla hit, or that really, really touching Pixar movie. You know, important stuff. But lately Brittany had been crying about almost everything. Santana would have thought it was adorable if her heart didn’t break with every tear that rolled down her wife’s face. So, she pasted a cheerful smile on her face, scooped some soup into a bowl, added a few oyster crackers, and carefully placed the dinner tray on Brittany’s lap, gently sitting down on the couch, and pulling her wife’s feet into her lap. She guided her feet under the covers, and began to massage and knead softly while Brittany ate. They didn’t say anything for a while, just basking in each other’s company, and Santana was happy to see that Brittany seemed to be feeling better. Her tears had stopped, and she was really enjoying the soup, much to Santana’s satisfaction. She rubbed her feet more gingerly now has she felt them loosen up, and cleared her throat.   
“You should go up and say goodnight. Before she falls asleep, I mean.”  
Brittany sighed, setting her bowl on the table, and lying back on the couch. “This is exactly what I was afraid of Santana.”  
“I know, Britt.”  
“That she would, I dunno, hate me for this. Why didn’t we talk to her before we got pregnant? Why did we let it get this far?”  
“Babe…” Santana wiggled out from under Brittany’s feet, and went to the other side of the couch, kneeling down on the ground beside her. “We weren’t even sure if it was going to take. Remember how long it took with me? Who’d have known you’d be so fertile?”   
Santana smiled brightly, but Brittany’s face stayed in a frown.  
“We should have talked it over with her first.”  
“We talked about that too, Brittany. We love Tesla, and she’s our world, but we can’t let her make decisions for us. We knew it would be uncomfortable, but all kids get a little antsy when a new one comes along. Especially when she’s used to being all on her own like Tesla is. Remember how you acted after Ashley was born? Your mom still hasn’t stopped telling us that story about how you put up flyers all over the neighborhood for a baby sister for sale.”  
This pulled a smile to Brittany’s lips, but she still didn’t meet Santana’s eyes. “Yeah, she only brings it up every Thanksgiving.”  
“I’m just saying, there’s going to be a conflict. It’s natural. She’ll get over it in a couple of weeks, and will be back to hanging off of you like a jungle gym in no time. And then when the little one comes, she’ll be the proudest big sister there is. You’ll be bringing it up tomorrow, and by June she’ll be claiming the whole thing was her idea. You know how in sync you two are. That won’t change.”  
Brittany finally lifted her eyes, and Santana could see the worry there.   
“But San, I just love her so much. I don’t want her to ever think that I don’t. Or that this baby is going to change how I feel about her.”  
Santana tucked a bit of hair behind Brittany’s ear, and cupped her face.   
“I know that, Brittany, and you know that, and Tesla knows that. You have to trust me on this. Try not to worry, okay? That’s supposed to be my job for the time being.”  
With that she pressed a gentle kiss to the end of Brittany’s nose, and smiled at her.   
“What do you say?”  
Brittany only nodded in response.   
“How about we cuddle up in our bed, and watch some Netflix? I’ll let you pick.”  
Brittany smiled again. “This isn’t going to be one of those Netflix and chill scenarios, is it?”  
“Who, me?” Santana held her hands up in mock surrender. “I’d never tarnish the good name of Netflix like that.”  
Brittany sat up, and reached up a hand to Santana, who pulled her off of the couch. “Sure. Like all those times you invited me over for Sweet Valley High, which just devolved into make out sessions?”  
“Hey, I can’t help it that my lips are so irresistible.”  
“They really are.” Brittany purred, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss onto Santana’s lips.   
Santana waited a moment before opening her eyes, and shivered slightly. “See, that’s the kind of thing that turns Netflix and chill into other things.”  
“Oh yeah?” Brittany winked. “Is that a promise?”   
“Let’s see what’s playing and find out.”  
\  
Brittany left early the next day, and Tesla didn’t have a chance to see her. She wasn’t in a rush to face her after their argument the day before. Tesla still felt terrible about it, and she almost considered trying to convince her Mami that she was too sick to go to school. But she remembered that they were supposed to be having dinner with her Uncle Sam, Aunt Mercedes and Cousin Lila that night and if she was too sick to go to school Santana would want to stay home with her, and that might ruin everything. And the last thing she wanted to do was be a bigger burden to her parents.   
Brittany had come into her room the night before, right as Tesla had felt herself falling asleep. She sat by the bed and rubbed Tesla’s back for a few minutes, before kissing her on the forehead. The small gestures had made Tesla feel even more like a jerk, and she’d practically cried herself to sleep.   
Now she was exhausted, and really didn’t feel like going to school, but had loaded up her bookbag anyway, and climbed into her Mami’s SUV, careful not to leave scuff marks on the door frame. She folded her hands and sat perfectly still in her pressed school uniform, her hair done in perfect pigtails that hung down her back. Her Mami had brushed and braided her hair as Tesla sat at the kitchen table, eating cereal. Santana hadn’t mentioned the night before, and she was grateful, they only talked about the dinner that night, and asked again about Tesla’s birthday.   
The drive was pretty quiet, with Santana spending a fair share of it on the phone with who Tesla could only assume was Aunt Mercedes. Well, probably Uncle Sam by how rude she was being. They were only a few blocks from Tesla’s school when Santana had finished her call, and turned the radio down.   
“Did you think about what I said last night, mija?”  
“Si, Mami.”  
“Are you going to do better by your Mom?”  
“Si, Mami.”  
“¿Prometemelo, mi amor?”  
“Te lo prometo, Mami.”  
Tesla could feels Santana’s eyes on her, but couldn’t bring herself to look over. She had to make this right, somehow. She had to fix things with her Mom.   
They pulled up to the school a few moments later, and Tesla braced herself for Santana’s kiss, as her Mami leaned over the console of the car, and planted a gentle one on her cheek.   
“Que tengas un buen dia, Tesla. Study hard.”  
“Si, Mami.” Tesla responded, without much enthusiasm.   
Santana gave her a wary look, but pulled away.   
Tesla had the day to figure out how she was going to square things with her Mom, and she wanted the answer sooner rather than later. She had to figure it out before they had their big, inevitable talk that evening. It was something to be solved just like all of the math problems that she’d faced before. The most important thing was figuring out the right question, and then she’d be able to get to the right answer. She solved the Blasure Conundrum in 56 hours, and her Mom hadn’t even helped her at all. She could do this.   
She tugged her bookbag closer, and put her head down, walking towards the school. There were about twenty minutes before the bell rang, and she wanted to find an empty classroom with a white board.   
As she walked the halls she thought back to her first days there at Pennington Preparatory School. It was pretty much the best school in the whole state, and she knew her parents had spent a lot sending her there. Most of the kids came from well off families, and it showed, some of them could be pretty spoiled. But she avoided the worst of them for the most part, and though she was still finding it a little difficult to make friends, she’d had a few gems come her way.   
Literally in this case, as one of her best friends (and certainly her weirdest), Stevie Nickel came bounding over, his bookbag splayed open, and the contents spilling out as he jogged.   
Stevie was a short and squat kid, nothing like the height and long limbs of Tesla. He was pale like he’d never been out in the sun, with shockingly red hair that called even more attention to him from the bullies. Today he was wearing a pair of khaki shorts, with a pink polo top. The outfit should have been stylish, but on Stevie it seemed out of place, and ill fitting. Tesla put up her hands.   
“Whoa, Stevie, slow down. You’re dropping your stuff everywhere.”  
Stevie looked back at the trail behind him and flushed a deep red. “Oh yeah.”   
He turned and began picking up the debris, stopping when he got too far away from Tesla (who had renewed her search for an empty classroom), and jogging up to her again.   
“What are you doing, Tess? Class starts soon.”  
“I’m looking for a classroom, Stevie. I’ve got something to figure out.”  
“Is this about your mom again? I told you just stay out of her way, that’s the best way to do it.”  
“That’s not it, Stevie.”  
“Well, what is it?”  
“Aha!”   
Tesla found was she was looking for and ducked into a classroom. Stevie, looking around to see if the coast was clear, quickly followed. He watched her for a moment as she shrugged off her book bag and pulled out her own personal supply of dry erase markers then climbed onto a nearby chair and began furiously scribbling on the board.   
“Tess, we should get going, the bell is about to ring.”  
He watched in fascination as Tesla wrote on the board. She drew graphs and flowcharts, venn diagrams and at least one genealogy tree. He saw her name written a half dozen times, and also several incarnations of Mami, Mommy and the word, SPAWN, all in capital letters. He pointed up to the board.   
“Tess? What does spawn mean?”  
Tesla took a step back to admire her handiwork. “It’s a word for a baby you don’t like. My Mami uses it all the time to talk about Cousin Sofie when she thinks I’m not listening. It’s a pretty good word.”  
“You don’t like your little brother or sister?”  
Tesla paused, looking back at Stevie. “It’s not that I don’t like them. I just don’t know them.”  
“Well…” Stevie looked down, fiddling with the zipper on his uniform jacket. “Maybe you will.”  
Tesla’s face look grave, and she sat down on the chair she’d been standing on with a thump. “I don’t know if I’ll get a chance.”  
Stevie didn’t say anything, but walked over to the board. In addition to the words, there were loads of numbers and equations. Tesla had always been really, really good at math, way better than he was, and even better than a lot of the teachers. She said it was because her Mom was the best mathematician in the world, and the one time he’d gone over to the Lopez-Pierce house, he’d gotten lost in the library, and seen a ton of books that her Mom had written. He’d also stumbled on a whiteboard that looked a lot like the one in front of him; covered in incomprehensible numbers.   
He spent a moment trying to decipher it, but gave up and looked back at Tesla. “What does it mean?”  
“It means, I have to leave.”  
Stevie’s mouth dropped open and he was about to respond, but at that moment, the early bell rang, signifying they had five minutes to get to class before they were really late. Tesla was up in a flash, grabbing her book bag and bounding off into the hall, and Stevie scurried after.   
“Tess, I don’t think your moms would be happy if you left.”  
“You don’t get it, Stevie. It’s the only way.”  
“The only way to what?”  
“The only way to make sure that they’re both happy. They might be sad at the beginning, but then they’d feel better. I’m sure of it.   
“I dunno. It just seems like they’ll be really worried, and then sad, and then mad and then you get grounded for a year. That’s pretty much what happened to me when I tried to start my own app that traded lunches. So, I dunno if this is the best plan.”  
“Look, Stevie, you don’t get it!” Tesla stopped, swinging around to face him. They were outside their classroom now, and students were filing past. “My mommy is going to have a kid that she HAD, you know, that was in her tummy for the whole time. Not me! And she’s not going to need me anymore. It’ll just be sad for her to see me wandering around. And then my Mami always says, “What Mommy wants, Mommy gets.’” And my Mom wants this new baby. I don’t want them to be miserable, Stevie. I still love them a lot, you know.”  
“Yeah, I guess.” Stevie relented.   
“Anyway, you’ve gotta promise me that you won’t tell anybody, okay? This is a secret between you and me.”  
Stevie nodded. Tesla was his best friend, and he wouldn’t lose her confidence now. Even if he didn’t completely agree with her plan, he had to at least try for her sake.   
“I promise, Tess.”  
They shook hands firmly.   
“Now, let’s get to class.”  
\  
Santana hated corporate law.   
She’d gotten into law to help out people who had been disenfranchised or who were getting pushed around. She loved that side of it, but what she was doing at the moment was not that.   
And what she was doing at the moment was sitting in her wonderfully large office, with Mercedes on one side of her and Sam on the other, while they looked over the contract that was going to make their dreams a reality. She couldn’t help but be happy watching them. Mercedes hit it big after her tour with Beyonce, and had gone out on a tour of her own. Four platinum selling albums later, the label had given her the go ahead to start her own record company. They had a team of lawyers ready to file the paperwork, but there was only one lawyer that Mercedes trusted with what was going to be her pride and joy (Besides her and Sam’s three year old daughter, of course). And that’s how they’d ended up in Santana’s office almost three months ago, and had spent almost every moment in it since, going over every period, comma and colon in the novel length contract, one that would secure her brand, and make sure her sound stayed her own.   
Sam was there, of course, mostly making a nuisance of himself, but also doing a passable job as Mercedes’ manager, a position that he’d had for almost five years. Mercedes’ hectic schedule kept them busy, but whenever they were in town, the Jones-Evans and Lopez-Pierces made time for each other. It was easy enough to find time to hang out with St. Berry, and Klaine and their kids, but Santana and Brittany both had a special place in their heart for Mercedes, and by extension Sam.   
Less so Sam, especially now that he’d broken out his Clint Eastwood impressions. He sat at the impressive mahogany table with the pen in his hand, poised to sign the documents.   
“You feeling lucky, punk?”  
“I swear to god, Trouty, if you don’t sign that contract, I’m going to make you eat that pen.”  
Sam gulped and quickly signed, right under where Mercedes had signed only a few moments before.   
Mercedes chuckled and wrapped her arm around Sam’s, pulling close to him.   
“Can you believe it, you two? All this work, all the struggle, and we’re here. We did it!”  
Santana checked over a few pages, flipping through pages as she skimmed. “Yep, and here I am with a binder filled with billable hours to your record company. I call that a win, win, win.”  
Mercedes rolled her eyes. “Well, while you were thinking dollar signs, I’ve been getting inspired. I can’t wait to get back into the studio.”  
“Your studio.” Sam drawled, planting a kiss on her cheek.  
“My studio.” Mercedes giggled, returning the kiss to his lips.   
Santana stood up violently, clearing her throat and clattering a pen across the table.   
“Ahem, excuse me? You still have an audience, if you don’t remember. Jeez, you two, keep it in your pants.”  
Mercedes rolled her eyes again. “Are you joking, Santana? How many times since high school have we been subjected to your wife’s pale behind sticking up in the air in some impossible position after we stumbled on you! We practically started having to ring a bell every time we entered a room. And you’ve barely gotten better since Tess came along.”  
“Fine, fine. Whatever. I’m just saying, okay? Take it easy. Anyway, congratulations to Hell to the No Records. If anybody deserves this, it’s you. You’ve been toiling for that label for years, Mercedes, you should have had this a long time ago.”  
“Well, I’m not complaining now. I’m just glad to be able to do it. And now I’m ready to celebrate. Tell me you’ve got some of that good champagne chilling at the house.”  
Santana laughed. “Have you ever known me to skimp when it comes to booze?”  
“I dunno, Santana. You used to stuff those big, cheap bottles of vodka down your skirt back in the day.” Mercedes said, laughing as well.   
“Oh my god, I forgot about that! Remember that time you distracted the clerk at the counter, and I got away with that awful tequila, then we got Rachel and Quinn to drink it with us and they ended up making out?”  
“I remember something about that night, and it had more to do with you making out with Rachel.”  
Santana’s eyes got wide for a moment, followed by a tight squint, and then wide again.   
“No… That… that didn’t-”  
“You can ask Brittany. She was the one goading you on. Afterwards, you cried for ten minutes about how much you hated it because ‘Brittany’s lips taste like strawberry cupcakes and Rachel’s tasted like old frog water.’”  
“Frog water?” Sam asked.  
“Yep. And then she hung off of Brittany all night, and it was at that moment that I realized you two were going to be together forever.”  
Santana squinted again. “I’m going to kill my wife.”  
“Oh c’mon Santana, it was 16 years ago.”  
“I can’t believe she got me to kiss Rachel.”  
“Rachel’s not ugly, Santana. I should know, I dated her.”  
“First of all, Sam, you dated every woman who ever spent more than fifteen seconds at McKinley, including the teachers. And secondly, it’s not because she’s ugly, it’s because she’s Rachel. She’s like the annoying, annoying, annoying little sister that I never had, and there’s no way I would have wanted to put my lips on that.”  
“And yet here we are.” Mercedes said with a wink.  
“We’ll see about that. I’m going to call Brittany right now.” Santana looked at her watch. “It’s almost three, she should be finishing up soon. She’ll let you all know.”  
“Fine, don’t believe me, Satan. But your wife will tell you the truth.”  
“Anyway, we’ve got to go pick Lila up from school, for dinner tonight. I’ve got all the bags in the car for the sleepover.” Sam said, standing up.  
“You all spend so much time in our guest room, I should start charging you rent.”  
They all laughed, and Santana packed her things into her briefcase, dropped the papers onto her secretary’s desk, and took out her phone. She frowned as she looked at the screen, unlocking it and tapping a few times.   
“What’s wrong, San?” Mercedes asked, holding the elevator doors open.   
“It’s just a message from the school, confirming an early dismissal for Tesla.”  
“I guess Brittany couldn’t wait for that talk.”  
“Yeah, I dunno. Maybe.”  
She brought her phone to her ear, and walked slowly behind Sam and Mercedes as they reached the lobby.   
“Hey hon. How’s it going with Tess? Yeah, yeah. No, I thought you were taking her out for your talk. No, sweetie. No. I just got an email from the school saying that you had gotten her out early. Maybe two hours ago, but we were busy and I didn’t get a chance to- What? Brittany-”  
Santana stopped for a moment, listening intently.   
“No, Brittany, don’t worry, okay, baby? I’m sure it was just an oversight. I’m going to call the school, and I’ll head there right now. No, don’t worry. You go home, and I’ll call you when I get to the school.”  
With that Santana disconnected with Brittany, she waved off Mercedes’ questions and immediately called the school. Mercedes used the opportunity to pull Sam aside.   
“You go get Lila and meet us back at their house. I’m going to go with Santana to the school.”  
“You’re going to go with her?”  
“Somebody needs to keep her from destroying everything in a nine mile radius, and as Brittany isn’t here, I’m the best we’ve got.”  
“Good point.”  
She kissed him on the cheek, and turned back to Santana who’d just gotten off the phone.   
“Those idiots!! How does a nine year old just up and vanish from the most exclusive school in the city?! I’m going to go over there and rip their heads off their bodies, just to watch them die squirming.” She seethed.   
Sam touched Santana’s arm quietly. He knew how hopeless he would feel if Lila was missing. He tried not to shrink back from her gaze.   
“I’m sure she’s fine, San. She’s probably sitting in her classroom now. Get over there, and see her, and it’ll make you feel better.”  
To her credit, Santana didn’t lash out at him, and a moment of softness sparked across her eyes.   
“I’m going with you, Santana.” Mercedes said.   
“You don’t need to do that, ‘Cedes-”  
“No buts. Sam is going to get Lila, and by the time we get back to the house, we’ll have this all figured out and have a good laugh about it.”  
Santana looked at Mercedes hopefully. “Yeah, maybe. C’mon let’s go.”  
They parted with Sam (after he and Mercedes shared a quick hug) at the parking garage, and a few minutes later, they were careening down the busy streets in the direction of Pennington Prep.   
“Of all the knuckleheaded things to do. I’m not paying the money I pay every year to that stupid school so they can lose my daughter.” Santana grumbled as they sped down the road.   
“Santana, maybe you should take it easy, you don’t want to get a speeding ticket on top of everything else.”  
“I dare a cop to try to pull me over right now, I would sue the pants off the whole city!”  
She continued grumbling, and Mercedes said nothing, figuring that being a calming force in the car would be more productive than arguing. Suddenly the phone rang from where Santana had wedged it in the middle console, and Mercedes grabbed it before she could get her hands on it.   
“Focus on the road, okay?”  
She connected the call, and turned on the speakerphone, holding it between the two of them.  
“It’s Mercedes, Britt. You’re on speakerphone.”  
Brittany’s voice sounded strained, like she was trying to hold in a panic that was slowly going spirling of control.   
“Did you call the school?”  
“Yeah, they said that someone checked her out right after lunch, and that it was supposedly you.”  
Santana’s voice was as smooth as well worn cobblestones, but Brittany’s raised an octave or two as she defended herself.  
“Well, it wasn’t me, Santana! I’ve been at the studio all day, and haven’t had time to check my phone, and-”  
“Brittany.”  
Santana’s voice was calm and still. Mercedes noticed that she slowed down the car a bit, and seemed to be taking deeper breaths.   
For a moment there was no response, and Santana paused before speaking again.   
“Brittany?”  
“Yes, Santana?”  
The sharp edge of panic was gone from her voice, and she seemed to be breathing as well.   
“You’re in the car right now, right?”  
“Yes, Santana, I’m about fifteen minutes away from the house.”  
“You’re going to drive carefully, and within the speed limit, and I’m going to do the same, okay?”  
Another pause.   
“Okay.”  
“I know you didn’t check her out, and I know I didn’t check her out, but I’m going to find out what happened in a little while. Knowing Tess, she’s probably at home waiting on you now.”  
Brittany didn’t respond to that.   
“Brittany?”  
“Yes, Santana?”  
“I love you, Brittany.”  
No hesitation this time. “I love you, too.”  
Santana nodded to Mercedes who disconnected the call, and sat back in the chair. The car had slowed down significantly, but Mercedes couldn’t miss the way that Santana’s fists tightened on the steering wheel.   
\  
Getting out of school had been ridiculously easy. Tesla went to the nurse's’ office, and told them she was feeling sick. Then she logged onto her mother’s email account from her phone, and sent an email to the school saying Brittany would be picking her up early from school that day. Then she used her taxi app to call one to the school. She only had to walk to the front door, and she was home free.   
She hadn’t been totally unprepared for this possibility. The one where she’d have to leave home forever. She’d considered it a lot the night before, and had prepared by packing a few changes of clothes, and all the money she’d been saving since the summer for a new telescope. It was almost five hundred dollars and included most of her birthday money, all the money her Opa Pierce had given to her when he thought her moms weren’t looking, the cash that she’d gotten walking dogs after school, and her winter of shoveling walkways.   
She’d really been looking forward to buying that telescope. She was going to set it up in the backyard, and spend the warming nights looking through it with Brittany. Her Mom had even promised that they’d take Aunt Rachel, Uncle Jesse and Christopher to the Catskills so they could do some real star gazing. They were going to stay in the cabin that her Mami had surprised them with three summers ago.   
Tears began forming in Tesla’s eyes. Now they’d get to do all that with the new baby. It only seemed fair.   
She had changed out of her school uniform so she would seem less conspicuous, and sat on a bench inside of the subway station. She hadn’t wanted to go too far in the taxi, mostly because of the expense, but also because she didn’t want anyone to know where she was headed. She would take the subway into the city, and catch a bus from there. She’d researched the fares online, and figure it was the method with the least amount of questions asked.   
She’d also researched places to go. The weather was still a little cold, so it would be better to go south. She couldn’t drive, and renting an apartment was out of the question, but she might be able to get a hotel (she’d been working on her ‘my parents are in the bathroom’ schtick), and that could get her into a long stay hotel. Especially if she paid in cash. That’s not to say she wasn’t scared. After a little while, she’d head over to Lima, and maybe convince her Abuela and Abuelo to take her in. If she couldn’t be with her moms, her grandparents would be the next best option.  
All she needed now was time. Time for her parents to realize how much better their lives would be with her gone, and how much better they’d be with the new baby in it.   
She hugged her knees to her chest and fought the tears again. It was going to be hard, and she was scared. She missed them already so much. But what choice did she have? The numbers didn’t lie. She’d factored in the happiness quotient and everything. She sighed. Sometimes we have to do hard things for the people we love.   
She looked at her watch. Only about five more minutes before the subway came and she was gone for good. The idea make her heart beat faster. She sat up a bit, placing her feet on the floor and looked up and down the tracks. There were a few people coming here and there, but no big crowds. It was still a bit early for rush hour. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, looking at the time. She’d put it into airplane mode as soon as she’d left the school, knowing that if she didn’t it would have been ringing off the hook. The background was a picture of her and her mothers at the park a few weeks before. They’d been so happy. She locked her phone quickly, before she had time to lose her nerve.   
Tesla felt a presence beside her before she heard or saw anyone. She shoved her phone into her coat, paranoid about pickpockets and thieves, and kept her gaze trained downward, looking at her shoes swinging back and forth on the bench.   
The person took a step closer and sat down.   
She didn’t dare look up. She put her hands into her pockets, and tried to look as small as possible. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she was almost shaking she was so frightened. She started to stand up when a voice stopped her.   
“Waiting on a train, huh?”  
Her eyes snapped up. She would have known that voice anywhere. She’d heard it in concert about a dozen times, and it had even sung her to sleep on several occasions.  
“Aunt Mercedes?” Tesla said, her eyes wide with shock.   
“Yep, in the flesh. Want to sit down with me for a second? Or do you have to go?” She patted the bench beside her, and Tesla scooted closer, much too surprised to do anything else.   
“No, I, um, I have some time.” She pulled her hands out of her pockets, tugging on the edge of her pigtails. “What are are you doing here? Is Lila with you? And uncle Sam?”  
Mercedes chuckled. “Nope, just me. I was looking for you, Tesla.”  
“Really?”  
“Yep.”  
“How did you find me?”  
“Your little friend at school-”  
“Stevie Nickel.”  
It wasn't a question.   
“That's him. He was concerned that this plan of yours could get you kidnapped, or worse.”  
“I'm fine.” She said defiantly, jutting out her lip. “I knew he couldn't keep a secret. His whole look says he would be the first to crack under torture.”  
“Well, we didn't torture him, but a few minutes alone with you Mami would be as close as the Geneva convention would allow.”  
“That’s exactly what Stevie would say is torture. Once he was alone with her in the kitchen for three minutes, and he had to go lay down in my room until his parents could pick him up.”  
Mercedes chuckled. “He does seem like a fragile child.”  
“He’s not all that bad. He does have asthma though, but my Mom always said we shouldn’t judge people because of their physical limitations.”  
At the mention of Brittany, Tesla looked down at her toes again.   
Mercedes looked at her goddaughter, her brown/blonde curly hair hanging down in braids on her shoulders, her fawn skin tone (with a gentle rose color on the tips of her ears, and nose), her graceful shoulders and gangly limbs. She knew that Brittany hadn’t carried her, and she carried none of Brittany’s DNA inside of her, but she could see her best friend in that girl. She’d never doubted it for a second. So, when Santana had called her late last year and told her about the troubles that Tesla had been having, she didn’t want to believe it. How could this girl, who was so much like her mother, not believe that she was Brittany’s child through and through? She sighed deeply.   
“Tesla-”  
“My mom is pregnant.”  
The words fell like stones out of Tesla’s mouth.   
Mercedes nodded.   
Tesla looked shocked. “You knew?”  
“Well, I just found out today. They told me that it might be why you thought you had to run away.”  
Tesla looked down at her feet. “Well, it’s not.” She said defiantly. “Well, mostly not.”  
“Did I ever tell you the story of how I became your godmother, Tess?”  
Tess tensed as she felt the train enter the station. She looked up at Mercedes who kept regarding her with the same calm expression, and felt the urgency leave her. She settled back into her seat.   
“I don’t think so.”  
“Well...” Mercedes began, smoothing her hands over her pants. “I wasn’t married to your uncle Sam then. In fact we weren’t even dating. We didn’t even know we were in love.”  
“Really?” Tesla had thought Mercedes and Sam had been lovey dovey forever. Just like her parents.   
“Really. We had dated in high school, and had given up on each other. It was only temporary, but we didn’t know that at the time.”  
Tesla kicked her feet out scuffing the ground under them, and sat silent.   
“I was here after opening for Beyonce, and people were waiting on new music, and I’d already spent the summer in the city, getting on everybody’s nerves. I bounced between Blaine and Kurt, then some time with Rachel and Jesse, but that didn’t last long. So, I ended up with your moms.”  
“In the city?”  
“Yep, when you all were living in the city. Santana was really pregnant then, and they were trying to figure out what to name you and everything. I remember I used to come home from the studio exhausted after staring at the four walls all day, and Brittany would drag us all down to the park on 6th street, and she’d bring a blanket and we’d sit in the sunshine. She’d lay in your Mami’s lap and whisper to you. She’d swear you could hear her in there, and she was telling you all of the fun stuff that we’d do when we were all together.”  
Tesla smiled, a wistful look in her eye.   
“And it was a day like that when they asked me to be your godmother. I told them it wasn’t a good idea, because I had no idea what I was doing with my life, and I thought I had a plan, but I wasn’t so sure. I knew I had a lot of potential, but I wasn’t sure where that would end up. I figured your moms would want someone with kids like Kurt or someone who was really well established like Rachel to be your godparent. But, they wanted me.”  
“Well…” Tesla said after a moment. “Why’d they chose you?”  
“Brittany told me that I was the only person that she trusted to take care of her little girl. When we were in high school, and right after, we went through a lot. Everyone finding out that your Mami liked girls, which was considered strange at the time, your Mom’s trouble with school, then later both of them trying to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives. Back then, I thought I had it all figured out, and I helped them figure themselves out too. We’re not doing exactly what we thought we would do, but I stood by them because they’re my friends and I love them. They chose me because you were the most important thing in the world to them. You still are, and they wanted someone watching over you who would appreciate that. Who would treat you like a precious gift.”  
“Precious means a treasure. Something rare. I’m not anymore. Mom will have a baby of her own now. A real baby that lived in her tummy. What- What if she doesn’t want me anymore?”  
Tesla’s face crumpled, and she leaned over, burying her face in Mercedes’ lap.   
Mercedes’ heart broke just a little, and she ran her hands over Tesla’s back, trying to calm her.   
“Tess, love is an interesting thing. You know that your Mami loves your Mom, right?”  
Tesla only nodded, trying to hold back her sniffling.   
“Well, when I saw them together I knew that nobody could get between them. I mean, they were inseparable. Always hugging and kissing and- Well, you get the point. They would look at each other, and it was like no one else existed on the planet. But then you came along. And it was like they were more in love than ever. But I’d see them look at you, and you know what? I saw that same love in their eyes for you. Like there was no one else in the world. For both of them. Love isn’t like a well, Tesla. It’s not something that you can drain dry. It’s like the ocean, it keeps going and going, and rain replenishes it and you can fill up bucket after bucket and it will never go dry. And I think there’s enough love in that ocean for you and your new sibling.”  
Tesla kept her head down, but a few moments later her breathing returned to normal. Mercedes didn’t let up petting her head, and gave her time.   
“Tesla?”  
“Yeah, Aunt ‘Cedes?”  
“Do you want to see your Mom, sweetie?”  
Tesla sighed and sniffed, sitting up and rubbing an arm across her tear streaked face. “She’s going to be mad at me. I did a pretty stupid thing.”  
“Yeah, you did. But that’s the thing about the people that love us. We all do stupid stuff from time to time, Tesla, the important thing is that we learn from it. Our family never stops loving us. Not the family that matters.”  
“You’re a part of our family, aren’t you, Aunt Mercedes?”  
“Yep, and so is your Uncle Sam and Lila, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Jesse and Christopher, Kurt and Blaine, Aunt Quinn and Tina and Mike and everyone. Some are the family we have, and some are the family that we make, and we look out for each other.”  
“Do you think my mom can forgive me?”  
Mercedes cradled Tesla’s face in her hands. “Oh baby girl.” She nodded back towards the stairs leading up to the street. “Your mom is coming down those steps in a few minutes, and your Mami right after that. I want you to tell me after you see them what you think.”  
Tesla froze, wide eyed. “They’re coming here?”   
“I certainly couldn’t have found you and not told them. What kind of godmother would that make me?”  
“A pretty crappy one, I guess.”  
“Yep. But you just remember what Brittany told you a few months back. You are her little girl, Tess.”  
Tesla gulped and nodded, looking towards the stairwell.   
“I’m glad you didn’t run away, Tess. We would have missed you around here. Especially Lila. You’ve done such a good job taking care of her since we got into town.”  
“She’s fun. I miss her when she’s not here.”  
“See, having a little one around isn’t so bad after all, huh?”  
Tesla gave a small half smile. “I guess not.”  
She was about to turn her attention back to Mercedes, when she suddenly saw a pair of bright green Converse followed by a pair of checkerboard kneesocks that she knew could only belong to one person. Tesla held her breath.   
Brittany was fully in view after a few seconds, and looked about wildly, finally seeing Mercedes sitting on the bench, and Tesla sitting beside her.   
The little girl was on her feet in a moment,   
Brittany raced over, moving fluidly through the small crowd that made their way out of the station. She dodged bodies with a dancer’s grace, never for a moment taking her eyes off of Tesla. She didn’t stop until she crashed into Tesla, sweeping her up in her arms, and squeezing tight.   
“Oh, Tess.” Brittany whispered.   
Tesla wrapped her arms around Brittany’s neck, not willing to let go either, and couldn’t help the heavy sobs that escaped her. She couldn’t speak and just let her tears flow, soaking into the cotton of Brittany’s shirt. She didn’t notice Santana approaching, but felt another body slam into her back, and could hear some soft cursing in Spanish. This brought the tears even harder. They stood there for a few more minutes, until Santana pulled her a hair away from Brittany to check her all over for any trauma, and then left her to crash back into her mom, and begin crying all over again.   
Mercedes placed a gentle hand on Santana’s back. “Let’s get you all back home.”


	4. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not the last time we'll see Tesla LoPierce, believe you me.

Tesla had a feeling that tonight would be the night. She’d resisted going to sleep by fluffing up some pillows on her bed and tucking into her closet with a flashlight and her well worn copy of “A Brief History of Time”. It was the most recent edition and it was signed by her mom, who’d also written the foreward. Brittany wasn’t the leading theoretical chaos theory expert for nothing. The text was still a bit over Tesla’a head, but she liked to read the part about herself in the pages. It was near the end of the forward, and it was her favorite part.   
I learn something new from my daughter Tesla everyday. A lot of it is about the way to live my life. She teaches me to be patient, because not everyone knows what you know. She teaches me to be kind, because the way you live your life is the way that your children will live theirs. She teaches me to be curious because one should always be asking why. She teaches me to be brave, and hopeful, and optimistic, and thoughtful, and active. She teaches me all those things just in the way that she lives her life. She gives me those lessons every day for free because she is probably tied for first place as the most giving person I’ve ever met (I’m talking about you, Santana!).   
Tesla is the reason that I’m where I am today. When she was a baby, she was very fussy at night. My wife would be exhausted from work, so it was up to me (the pretty free college professor) to stay up and walk the baby around. I tried singing to her, it didn’t work. I tried dancing with her, better but still not the home run. It wasn’t until I started doing the work on my doctoral thesis with her in my arms that she’d settle down. Most of the time she would sleep, but sometimes she would just gurgle and coo to the sound of my marker squeaking across the white board.   
The night that I expounded on the Brittany Code, and discovered a tangent that would revolutionize the way we thought about the universe, was not a peaceful night. I had been rocking Tesla, and pacing back and forth with her for what seemed like hours, and had finally gone to my full lab in the basement, just so my wife could get some sleep. I decided that it wouldn’t do any harm to start running some equations, so I did, writing and writing to the rhythm of my sleepy infant’s cries. I thought she’d go on forever when I (probably in a fit of shrieking induced hysteria), transposed Planck’s Constant instead of the one for Vacuum permeability and voila! She stopped crying immediately. I was so shocked I didn’t even have time to think about my mistake, and just bounded up the stairs to place her in her crib.   
It wasn’t until the next morning when I realized what I’d done. And what it meant. By way of my little girl I had stumbled upon one of the greatest finds of the twenty first century. That’s the day that I learned that inspiration comes from unexpected places, and to never underestimate Tesla Lopez-Pierce.   
To my wife Santana, who gave me everything a woman could ask for.   
To my daughter Tesla, who has made me prouder than I’ve ever thought possible.   
I love you.   
Tesla closed the book with a snap and sighed. She was basking in the glow of the warm words when she heard a thump from where she sat in the closet. She opened the door, ready to shoo Lord Tubbington away when she heard a shout, and a figure stumbled back.   
“Tesla! Girl, you scared the heck out of me.”  
“Sorry Aunt Mercedes.” Tesla said, climbing out of the closet, and standing up. “I thought you were Lord T. He sometimes sits on my legs at night, and I lose feeling in my toes-”  
Tesla stopped, hopping from one foot to the other. “If you’re here, does that mean it’s time?! Is it time?!”  
Mercedes laughed. “Yep. Santana just called me a minute ago. Put on your shoes, Tess, we’re going to the hospital.”  
Tesla reached beside her bed for the ‘Emergency Baby Kit’ that her Mami had prepared for her a few weeks before, and grabbing her boots, ran out of the room, down the hallway, and careened down the stairs. She managed to wiggle both feet into boots, and grab her coat off the rack in record time, and was waiting by the door, nervously moving in small circles while Mercedes followed behind her.   
Sam walked his wife to the car, gave her a kiss, and hugged Tesla, waving goodbye to them as they pulled out of the driveway, and into the road. Aunt Mercedes wasn’t used to driving her Mami’s car, but at least it hadn’t started snowing yet, so they were able to make good time to the hospital.   
Tesla already knew the room number, and ran to the elevator, tapping the button furiously as she waited for Mercedes to catch up.   
“Aunt Mercedeeeeeeesss. C’mon”  
“I’m coming, Tess, I’m coming, don’t worry, we’ve still got time.”  
“Did Mami say how many centimeters Mom is? I mean, how many centimeters dilated? Because that book I read told me that-”  
“She didn’t Tess, but I’m sure you can ask her all about it when we get in there. Just remember to be quiet and be careful, okay, this is still a hospital.”  
Tesla nodded, but kept up her excited little dance as she waited for them to reach their floor. Mercedes could only smile as the elevator doors opened, Tesla took a careful peek outside, and then raced off the elevator, and down the hall. She found the right door, and looked to Mercedes who nodded before peeking in.   
“She’s here! She’s here, Santana.”  
Brittany’s eyes were brimming with tears, and Santana, who looked like she hadn’t slept in a month, looked up towards the door, beckoning to the nurses who gathered around the bed.   
“Our daughter is here. Our little girl.” She said, pointing towards Tesla.   
Mercedes was behind her now, and one of the nurses handed a stack of clothes to Mercedes.   
“Time to suit up, Tesla. Are you ready to meet your new little brother or sister?”  
Tesla nodded, carefully shedding her bag, and tucking it out of the way. Then, with the help of Mercedes, donned the gloves, gown, and cap that was almost full to bursting once all of her curly locks were tucked under it.   
She walked over to the side of the bed opposite Santana, and put a hand on Brittany’s shoulder, wide eyed and nervous but so, so, happy.   
“You’re doing great, hun.” Santana said, giving Brittany’s hand a gentle squeeze.”  
“I love you, Mommy.” Said Tesla, squeezing Brittany’s shoulder.   
Brittany smiled and leaned over slightly, kissing Tesla on the forehead. “My two favorite girls. I’m so glad you’re here.”  
Tesla smiled, but her eyes got wide again when Brittany’s face contorted into a grimace, and she strained hard. Her hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat and her cheeks stained red from effort. Every so often Santana would dab at her brow with a towel, lovingly, while whispering encouragement into her ear.   
Dr. Langley pulled a hand out from between Brittany’s legs, and patted her thigh.   
“You’re doing a terrific job, Brittany, only a few more pushes, okay, I can feel the little one is really ready to pop out.”  
Brittany only groaned, baring her teeth, and turned towards Santana. “This is much harder than you made it look, darling.”  
“Well, I did have the harder pregnancy, so it all evened out in the end, right?”  
Her weak joke landed on deaf ears as Brittany groaned again, squeezing Santana’s hand.   
“Only a few more pushes now, Brittany, you’ve got this.” Doctor Langley seemed to be focused on Brittany’s pushing, and there was a shift in the room, as if the finish line was right around the corner.   
“You can do it, Mommy.” Tesla began chanting in her mother’s ear, pressing her forehead into Brittany’s shoulder.   
Santana did the same, pressing her forehead into Brittany’s while looking into her eyes. “You’ve got it now, Britt, just push. Here we go, let’s do this.”  
Brittany gritted her teeth, and moaned low, pressing down with all of her strength. A moment later she relaxed, and there was movement at the foot of the bed.   
“Okay, Brittany, okay, just relax. The baby is here.” Doctor Langley said, covering Brittany’s legs, and busying herself on the small bed with one of the nurses.   
“Is everything okay?” Brittany asked, her voice small and exhausted.   
“Give me a sec. Yep, yep, everything is fine.”  
There was a moment where the three Lopez-Pierce held their breath, and then they heard it. A tiny wail that split across the room. It was quiet at first, and then got louder, and louder.   
Doctor Langley spun around, carrying a small bundle towards them.   
“I present to you Baby Lopez-Pierce the Second. Mamas, it’s a boy!”   
Sunshine broke out across all of their faces, and Brittany gestured furiously towards Santana. “Give him to her. Let her hold him.”  
Doctor Langley complied, handing the tiny swaddling of blankets to Santana, who already had tears streaming down her cheeks. She tucked a hand behind his head, and gasped at the shock of dark hair that greeted her. She counted his fingers and toes, and kissed every single one before turning back to Brittany.   
“He’s gorgeous, Britt. He’s so perfect. Thank you.”  
Brittany smiled, still wiped out from her earlier endeavors. Santana stood up, and beckoned to Tesla, who was around the bed in a flash, and standing in front of her Mami and new little brother.   
Santana gestured to the seat behind her and once Tesla sat down, nestled the baby in her arms.   
“Es perfecto.” Tesla breathed, looking down at her little brother. “He looks like me.”  
“He does, mija. He’s perfect, just like you.” Santana smiled, and kissed Brittany again on the forehead.   
Doctor Langley smiled at the scene. “Any idea what to name him?”  
“Lovelace!” Brittany exclaimed without hesitation. “Tesla and I came up with that one.”  
Santana smiled again, rolling her eyes. “I never could say no to that pout.”  
Tesla looked down at the baby, grinning. “He’s named after Ada Lovelace. She was the world’s first computer programmer.”  
“Is that right?” Chuckled Doctor Langley, good naturedly.   
“Yep.”  
Santana settled next to Brittany, careful not to jostle her too much, and watched Tesla sitting next to them. Gently cradling her newborn baby brother.   
“I’m so glad we did this.” Brittany whispered, pulling Santana towards her, and burying her face in her neck. “It’s like our family just got a little bit more perfect.”  
“I love you, Brittany.”  
“I love you, Santana.”  
Tesla moved her face closer to her baby brother’s and kissed him gently. “Te amo, Lovelace.”


End file.
